Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P. A. v. United States

Summary

The Court held that attorneys who provide qualifying bankruptcy assistance are debt relief agencies under the BAPCPA. It narrowly construed the prohibition on advising clients to incur debt, limiting it to advice principally motivated by the prospect of filing for bankruptcy and obtaining related relief, and upheld the challenged advertising disclosures as applied under the less demanding standard for factual commercial disclosures. Justice Scalia concurred while rejecting reliance on legislative history, and Justice Thomas concurred while questioning the continued validity of the disclosure standard but agreeing that the challenge failed on the record presented.