In the first review of Up-Tier lending (discussed in the "Facts" section of this summary) by a court of Appeals, the Fifth Circuit held that the pre-petition up-tier lending arrangement between the...
The district court has no jurisdiction to consider an appeal from an order of the bankruptcy court if the appellant fails to file the notice of appeal in a timely manner. A timely notice of appeal...
Reversing the lower courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a Chapter 13 debtor who had made voluntary contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan...
Judge(s):
Sidney R. Thomas, Consuelo M. Callahan, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, Circuit Judges
While a Chapter 7 trustee or creditor seeking to deny a debtor a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(B) must adduce evidence that the debtor acted with the specific intent to frustrate the...
The Eleventh Circuit held that the district court erred in dismissing the pro se debtors’ appeal for lack of jurisdiction and abused its discretion in dismissing the case as a sanction for...
Avoidance under 11 U.S.C. § 724(a) of the portion of a tax lien for penalties does not alter the priority of the amount of the tax authority's unavoided lien claim against the proceeds of the...
Judge(s):
Susan P. Graber, Roopali H. Desai, and Ana de Alba, Circuit Judges
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held a district court erred in dismissing a declaratory judgment action under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The appellant--counsel for bankruptcy...
When a confirmed Chapter 11 plan includes provisions protecting third parties from certain claims, the bankruptcy court has statutory, core jurisdiction over a complaint against the protected...
A bankruptcy court cannot award an involuntary debtor relief under 11 U.S.C. § 303(i) against a State merely because it was a petitioning creditor. First, a State does not waive its Eleventh...
Judge(s):
Rawlinson, Melloy (8th Circuit, sitting by designation), and Thomas
The Fourth Circuit held that local Chapter 13 form plans cannot "abridge, modify, or enlarge" a debtor's substantive rights under the Bankruptcy Code. In particular, they cannot require property...
Judge(s):
Chief Judge Albert Diaz; Circuit Judge James Harvie Wilkinson III; and Senior Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz
