WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says that when a person’s car has been impounded and they file for bankruptcy, the car does not have to be immediately returned.

In an opinion announced Thursday, Justice Samuel Alito wrote for a unanimous eight-justice court that “mere retention” of a debtor’s property by a creditor does not violate the law.

The case involved several people whose cars were impounded by the city of Chicago who then filed for bankruptcy and hoped to get their vehicles back.