The U.S. Supreme Court case Edgar A. Levy Leasing Company, Inc. v. Siegel in 1921 revolved around a dispute over the interpretation of bankruptcy laws and their application to property leases. The plaintiff, Edgar A. Levy Leasing Co., argued that they were entitled to recover possession of leased premises from the defendant, Siegel, who had declared bankruptcy while still owing rent on the property under lease agreement terms with them (Levy). However, Siegel contended that he was protected by his status as a bankrupt individual and could not be evicted during his ongoing proceedings for insolvency. The court ruled in favor of Levy Leasing Co., stating that although bankruptcy law does provide certain protections for debtors against creditors' claims during insolvency proceedings; it did not extend these protections to exempting tenants from fulfilling obligations under existing lease agreements or preventing landlords from reclaiming properties due to non-payment of rents owed prior to filing for bankruptcy protection.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Edgar A. Levy Leasing Company, Inc. v. Siegel argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and interpretations of bankruptcy law. The dissent contended that a lease is not an executory contract under Section 70b of the Bankruptcy Act, thus it should not be subject to rejection by a trustee in bankruptcy as such contracts are typically understood to require performance from both parties involved for fulfillment. They asserted that since all obligations on part of lessor had been fulfilled at time when lessee declared bankruptcy, there were no unperformed duties remaining which could classify lease as an executory contract liable for rejection by trustee according to their interpretation of said act.