In the case of Miller v. Irving Trust Co., the U.S. Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a bankrupt corporation's stockholders had any claim to surplus assets after all debts and costs were paid, even though they failed to present their claims within the time limit set by bankruptcy law. The court ruled in favor of Irving Trust Co., stating that while equity holders do have rights to residual assets, these rights are subordinate to those of creditors and can be barred if not timely asserted during bankruptcy proceedings. Therefore, shareholders cannot make late claims on a bankrupt company's remaining assets once all other obligations have been met.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Miller v. Irving Trust Co., argued that the majority's decision to allow a creditor to recover payments made by an insolvent debtor within four months prior to bankruptcy filing was inconsistent with previous rulings and interpretations of Section 60b of the Bankruptcy Act. The dissent pointed out that this section should be interpreted as protecting only those creditors who received preferential transfers without knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that a preference would occur, not all creditors regardless of their awareness. They also highlighted how such interpretation could potentially encourage fraudulent activities among debtors and preferred creditors at the expense of other innocent creditors. Furthermore, they criticized the majority for failing to consider whether there were any grounds for believing that insolvency existed when payment was made, which is crucial in determining if it constituted a voidable preference under bankruptcy law.