Bankruptcy Court's Order Denying A Plan Objection Is Not Appealable
IN RE: MCKINNEY (June 23, 2010)
When Lonnie McKinney fell behind on the property taxes for his Peoria County duplex, the county sold the tax debt to Salta Group. McKinney had two years within which to pay the debt after the sale. He did not and was notified that the property had been sold. He still had several months to redeem the property before Salta Group would receive a tax deed to the property. One day before the end of the redemption period, McKinney filed for bankruptcy. He proposed a bankruptcy plan that allowed an additional five years to pay off the tax debt. Salta Group filed an objection to the plan. The bankruptcy court denied the objection and Judge McDade (C.D. Ill.) affirmed. Salta Group appeals.
In their opinion, Chief Judge Easterbrook and Judges Rovner and Tinder dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The Court first addressed its -- and the district court's -- jurisdiction. The jurisdictional statute grants jurisdiction over "final" decisions and orders of the bankruptcy court. The Court conceded that the concept of finality is murkier in the bankruptcy arena than it is elsewhere because of the frequent existence of numerous discrete disputes within a single bankruptcy case. The test the Court applied was whether the order resolves a dispute that, but for the bankruptcy, would have been a discrete lawsuit. It concluded that Salta’s claim was not such a dispute. The order did not resolve any part of Salta's claim -- it merely resolved one issue.
