Lagos v. United States

The case asked whether a federal restitution law makes a defendant pay for a victim's private investigation and bankruptcy-related costs when the government did not require or request those expenses. The Supreme Court said the law covers expenses tied to government investigations and criminal proceedings, not private investigations or civil proceedings.

The Supreme Court decided the case on May 29, 2018, after argument on April 18, 2018, but the prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

This limits how much crime victims can recover through restitution in federal court. For example, a company harmed by fraud cannot automatically shift the cost of its own internal investigation or bankruptcy work to the defendant under this law.

The Court has finished this docket action. Lower courts and parties must apply this reading of the restitution statute in future cases and in any remaining proceedings tied to this case.

The dispute was over whether federal restitution law covers costs from a victim's own private investigation and bankruptcy proceedings. The Court said those costs fall outside the statute when they are not tied to government investigations or criminal proceedings.

Federal fraud defendants and corporate victims are directly affected. A victim company may recover less restitution if it spent money on its own internal inquiry or related civil work.

The Supreme Court's work in this case is done. Any lower-court or related proceedings must now follow the Court's reading of the restitution law.