No. 22-227October Term 2022Decided Jun 15, 2023
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin
Brian Coughlin filed for bankruptcy after taking a payday loan from a business owned by a Native American tribe, raising the issue of whether the tribe was protected from bankruptcy proceedings by sovereign immunity.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jun 15, 2023
- What it's about
Brian Coughlin filed for bankruptcy after taking a payday loan from a business owned by a Native American tribe, raising the issue of whether the tribe was protected from bankruptcy proceedings by sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court held that the Bankruptcy Code unequivocally abrogates the sovereign immunity of federally recognized Indian tribes.
Question presented
Whether the tribe was protected from bankruptcy proceedings by sovereign immunity?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit / Decision released Jun 15, 2023
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Documents
Related cases




Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Mar 30, 2026
- Method
- Methodology
Primary materials8
Supreme Court docket 22-227
docket | Mar 30, 2026
Primary case document
Supreme Court document | Mar 30, 2026
CourtListener docket record
docket | Mar 30, 2026
Questions Presented
brief | Mar 8, 2026
Coughlin
opinion | Jun 15, 2023
opinion
opinion | Jun 15, 2023
Petition
brief | Sep 8, 2022
Lower Court Orders/Opinions
order | Jul 8, 2022