Justice Elena Kagan had a wealth of support when she delivered her first Supreme Court opinionTuesday--even though the subject was bankruptcy.

New justices customarily receive a noncontroversial case for their maiden opinion, and only Justice Antonin Scalias dissent kept the former Harvard Law School dean from a perfect score on her first assignment.

The case, Ransom v. FIA Card Services, was the first arguedin the courts current term, a dispute pitting a Las Vegas man who filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy against his credit card issuer over the definition of automobile expenses.

Chapter 13 aims to help creditors recover as much as possible while ensuring that bankrupts have an incentive to work and can maintain a reasonable standard of living. Bankruptcy judges set up monthly payment plans which assign the debtors disposable income to the creditor, minus specific exemptions for food, apparel and other necessities.

Jason Ransom declared bankruptcy after racking up more than $82,000 in credit card debt. After claiming various deductions from his monthly income of $4,200, he calculated his disposable income as $210. Those deductions included the governments predetermined allowances for two car-related categories: $338 in operating costs and $471 in ownership costs.