In the 1991 case of William Barnhill v. Elliot Johnson, Trustee, the U.S. Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a transfer made by a debtor to or for the benefit of a creditor in payment of an antecedent debt is deemed "made" at the time when it is perfected if such perfection occurs within ten days after such transfer under section 547(e)(2) of Bankruptcy Code. The court held that transfers are not considered 'made' until they have been perfected and cannot be undone by other creditors or bankruptcy trustees. In this particular case, Mr. Barnhill had written checks to his milk supplier shortly before filing for bankruptcy which were honored after he filed his petition but within ten days from issuance date; thus these payments could not be reclaimed as preferential transfers because they were deemed 'made' on their respective dates of honor rather than on their issuance dates.

In the dissenting opinion for William Barnhill v. Elliot Johnson, Trustee, 1991 case, Justice Scalia disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "transfer" under §547(b) of the Bankruptcy Code. He argued that a transfer occurs when an entity gains control over property and not at delivery as suggested by the majority. In his view, this would mean that a check is considered transferred only once it has been honored by the bank rather than when it was delivered or mailed to its recipient. This interpretation aligns more closely with commercial practice and provides greater certainty in transactions involving checks because parties can know exactly when their rights have vested without having to rely on uncertain factors such as postal delivery times or practices.