U.S. Code » Title 31 » Subtitle SUBTITLE III— FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT › Chapter CHAPTER 37— CLAIMS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

31 U.S.C. § 3713

Priority of Government claims

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(a)(1) A claim of the United States Government shall be paid first when—(A) a person indebted to the Government is insolvent and—(i) the debtor without enough property to pay all debts makes a voluntary assignment of property;(ii) property of the debtor, if absent, is attached; or(iii) an act of bankruptcy is committed; or(B) the estate of a deceased debtor, in the custody of the executor or administrator, is not enough to pay all debts of the debtor.(2) This subsection does not apply to a case under title 11.(b) A representative of a person or an estate (except a trustee acting under title 11) paying any part of a debt of the person or estate before paying a claim of the Government is liable to the extent of the payment for unpaid claims of the Government.(Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 972.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised Section

Source (U.S. Code)

Source (Statutes at Large)

3713(a)

31:191.

R.S. § 3466; Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–598, § 322(a), 92 Stat. 2678.

3713(b)

31:192.

R.S. § 3467; restated May 10, 1934, ch. 277, § 518(a), 48 Stat. 760; Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–598, § 322(b), 92 Stat. 2679.

In the section, the word “claim” is substituted for “debts” for consistency. The word “due” is omitted as unnecessary.

In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the word “paid” is substituted for “satisfied” for consistency. In clause (A)(i), the words “and the priority established shall extend as well to cases in which” are omitted because of the restatement. In clause (A)(ii), the word “property” is substituted for “estate and effects” to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “absconding, concealed, or” and “by process of law” are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (a)(2), the words “The priority established under . . . however” are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (b), the words “A representative of a person or an estate” are substituted for “executor, administrator, or assignee, or other” for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “for whom or for which he acts”, “satisfies and”, and “from such person or estate” are omitted as surplus. The word “liable” is substituted for “answerable in his own person and estate” for consistency.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 234 cases (47 in the last 5 years), 1983–2026 · leading case: United States v. Richard J. Moriarty & Gruber, Moriarty, Fricke & Jaros, 8 F.3d 329 (6th Cir. 1993).
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United States v. Richard J. Moriarty & Gruber, Moriarty, Fricke & Jaros, 8 F.3d 329 (6th Cir. 1993). · cites it 22× “On appeal, the issue is whether the United States brought a timely action against the debtor’s representatives under the federal priority statute, 31 U.S.C. § 3713 (b), when it filed its action within six years of the representatives’ allegedly improper payments to other…”
In re Est. of Funk, 849 N.E.2d 366 (Ill. 2006). · cites it 8× “Given the dire condition in which Funk had left his finances, the FmHA invoked the Federal Insolvency Statute when it submitted its claims against Funk's estate.”
United States Dep't of Treasury v. Fabe, 508 U.S. 491 (1993). · cites it 6× “The federal priority statute, 31 U. S. C. § 3713 , accords first priority to the United States with respect to a bankrupt debtor's obligations.”
United States v. Est. of Romani, 523 U.S. 517 (1998). · cites it 9× “The federal priority statute, 31 U. S. C. § 3713 (a), provides that a claim of the United States Government "shall be paid first" when a decedent's estate cannot pay all of its debts.”
United States v. Finley Hilliard, 798 F.3d 296 (5th Cir. 2015). · cites it 14× “and Hilliard under 31 U.S.C. § 3713 , the Federal Priority Statute, alleging that they had made distributions from Stevens’s Estate and the Living Trust before paying debts owed to the Government.”
United States v. Jung Joo Park, 389 F. Supp. 3d 561 (E.D. Ill. 2019). · cites it 5× “Park, for fiduciary liability under 31 U.S.C. § 3713 ; Count III, for fiduciary liability of Charles Park under 31 U.”
United States v. McNicol, 829 F.3d 77 (1st Cir. 2016). · cites it 5× “This appeal requires us to construe and apply 31 U.S.C. § 3713 (commonly known as the federal priority statute).”
United States v. Oscar Renda, 709 F.3d 472 (5th Cir. 2013). · cites it 4× “This case, which arose out of a government dredging contract, requires us to delimit the scope of a corporate officer’s personal liability under 31 U.S.C. § 3713 (the “Priority Statute”).”
Sec. & Exch. Comm'n v. Credit Bancorp, Ltd., 138 F. Supp. 2d 512 (S.D.N.Y. 2001). · cites it 12× “§ 1340 , and declaring that in notifying the Court and the United States of the potential for tax liability the Receiver has discharged his obligations pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3713 (b) and may not be held liable for effectuating a court-ordered plan of partial distribution of…”
United States v. Golden Acres, Inc., 684 F. Supp. 96 (D. Del. 1988). · cites it 8× “The Amended Complaint charges that defendant Golden Acres breached its Regulatory Agreement with HUD; that the payments in violation of the Regulatory Agreement should have been held in trust for plaintiff; that defendants violated the Federal Priority Statute, 31 U.S.C. § 3713…”
United States v. Vertac Chem. Corp., 671 F. Supp. 595 (E.D. Ark. 1987). · cites it 9× “The Federal Priority Statute, 31 U.S.C. § 3713 60. Under 31 U.S.C. § 3713 (a) 1 a claim of the United States Government is entitled to first priority of payment when a debtor is insolvent and (1) the debtor makes a voluntary assignment of property, (2) property of the debtor is…”
State ex rel. Clark v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of West Virginia, Inc., 510 S.E.2d 764 (W. Va. 1998). · cites it 7× “Code § 33-24-27 (1996) (Supp.1998), which specifies the order of distribution for claims against the liquidated estate of an insolvent company, is preempted by the federal priority statute found at 31 U.”
Show all 234 citing cases →
31 U.S.C. § 3713(a): 1 case
Field v. USA, No. 2:15-cv-00241 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 9, 2022).
31 U.S.C. § 3713(a)(2): 1 case
United States v. Est. of Romani, 523 U.S. 517 (1998). “The federal priority statute, 31 U. S. C. § 3713 (a), provides that a claim of the United States Government "shall be paid first" when a decedent's estate cannot pay all of its debts.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.