In her first US Supreme Court ruling Justice Elena Kagan sided with Bank of America against an indebted consumer. This was in regards to consumers being able to cut their monthly payments by as much as $471 to account for car ownership costs if they are also receiving bankruptcy protection. Kagan wrote, however, that this can only be granted if the consumer is making lease or loan payments on the car.

She wrote that "if the debtor already owns a car outright, he has no need for this protection" in her opinion for the case.

The case revolved around Jason Ransom, a Nevada man who had attempted to seek this protection for his $14,000 Toyota Camry. At the time of his bankruptcy filing he owed $82,000 in credit card debt, $33,000 of that money owed to Bank of America FIA Card Services.

Whereas Justin Antonin Scalia is normally seen as a pro-business person, was the lone dissenter in this case. The basis for his decision was based in the belief that the rest of the justices misread a provision in a 2005 bankruptcy law.

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