- Citation:
- In re Bishop, No. 13-3805 (3d Cir. Mar. 21, 2014) (unpublished) (per curiam)
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- State court judgment may not be appealed to bankruptcy court because bankruptcy court lacks jurisdiction to review the merits of a state court proceeding.
- Procedural context:
- Debtors appealed a Delaware Superior Court judgment in their bankruptcy court case. The bankruptcy court struck the notice of appeal. Debtors appealed bankruptcy court order striking the appeal to the district court. The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court order striking the notice of appeal. Debtors then appealed the district court order.
- Facts:
- Bankruptcy court granted mortgage company stay relief to proceed with a foreclosure action in state court against debtors. Mortgage company obtained foreclosure judgment in its favor in Delaware Superior Court. Debtors appealed Delaware Superior Court judgment to bankruptcy court, and bankruptcy court struck the notice of appeal and a subsequent motion to amend the notice of appeal because the bankruptcy court did not have jurisdiction to review the merits of a state court judgment. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found the following arguments advanced by the debtors to be without merit: (i) that the dismissal of the notice of appeal violated the debtors' due process rights to appeal a state court judgment to federal court; (ii) that the dismissal of the notice of appeal violated the debtors' First Amendment right to petition; and (iii) that the dismissal of the notice of appeal was caused by Clerk's office procedures, which forced the debtors to commit technical errors.
- Judge(s):
- Fuentes, Greenberg, and Van Antwerpen
ABI Membership is required to access the full summary. Please Sign In using your ABI Member credentials. Not a Member yet? Join ABI now - it is absolutely worth it!
