Federal District Courts: Bankruptcy Appellate Jurisdiction

How bankruptcy appeals work

Under 28 U.S.C. s. 1334(b), original jurisdiction over title 11 proceedings is vested in the United States district courts. By standing order of reference adopted in each district under 28 U.S.C. s. 157(a), those proceedings are referred to the bankruptcy court, which sits as a unit of the district court under 28 U.S.C. s. 151. A litigant seeking review of a bankruptcy-court order proceeds through one of three channels:

1. Direct appeal to the district court under 28 U.S.C. s. 158(a) - the default route in most circuits.
2. BAP election under 28 U.S.C. s. 158(c)(1) in the First, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits - the appeal goes to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel unless any party timely opts out.
3. Direct appeal to the court of appeals under 28 U.S.C. s. 158(d)(2), on certification, when a controlling question of law, conflict, or public interest warrants bypassing the intermediate appellate level.

In addition to appellate review, the district court may withdraw the reference under 28 U.S.C. s. 157(d), either permissively for cause shown or mandatorily where a proceeding requires consideration of non-bankruptcy federal law regulating interstate commerce. The withdrawal mechanism returns adjudication to the Article III court while leaving the bankruptcy case administration with the bankruptcy court.

All 94 federal districts

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