- Case Type:
- Business
- Case Status:
- Reversed and Remanded
- Citation:
- 23-2293 (3rd Circuit, Jan 13,2025) Not Published
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- 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 filed by a creditor fails to save the appeal because the creditor is not a party.
- Procedural context:
- The bankruptcy court dismissed the debtor's adversary action against the appellee because the debtor, and not the trustee, filed the adversary proceeding, thus violating 11 U.S.C. § 362(k). At the same time, the bankruptcy court denied a motion to intervene in the adversary proceeding filed by a creditor ("Snyder"). Snyder—but not the debtor—then filed a notice of appeal.
The district court affirmed, holding among other things that only the trustee had standing to bring the adversary proceeding.
Snyder then appealed the district court's order. Fourteen days late, after the expiration of the appeal deadline in Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8002(a)(1), the debtor (and not the trustee) appealed the bankruptcy court's order.
- Facts:
- The debtor, U Lock, borrowed $325,000 from Biros to purchase property. A dispute about payment and terms subsequently arose. Biros sued U Lock in state court and prevailed. Biros requested a writ of possession from the state court in April 2022. Another creditor of U Lock, Shanni Snyder, filed an involuntary chapter 7 petition for U Lock.
After the petition was filed, the state court granted Biros the writ of possession. U Lock, and not the trustee, commenced an adversary proceeding against Biros for damages arising from a violation of the automatic stay. Snyder filed a motion seeking leave to intervene or join the adversary proceeding.
The bankruptcy court dismissed the adversary proceeding because the trustee, not the debtor, had standing to bring the action. The bankruptcy court also denied Snyder's motion as moot.
- Judge(s):
- SHWARTZ, MATEY, and McKEE, Circuit Judges
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