Does the Second Circuit Ruling Violate the Supremacy Clause?
Travelers asserts that the Second Circuit ruling is constitutionally impermissible because it violates the Supremacy Clause, which holds that the “Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; . . . shall be the supreme law of the land.” See Brief for Petitioners at 40; see also U.S. CONST. art. VI. Travelers cites the enumerated powers delegated to Congress under the Constitution, which provides that only Congress can “establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States.” U.S. CONST. art. I, ยง 8; Brief for Petitioners at 40. Travelers also refers to analogous cases where state laws overruling bankruptcy orders have been held invalid by the federal courts. See Brief for Petitioners at 41-42. Therefore, Travelers argues, state law causes of action against insurers cannot be asserted after the 1986 Confirmation Order. See id. at 43. According to Travelers, finding in the alternative would be untenable, because suc
