Appeals - General Information

 Official Procedure Last Change July 24, 2023

Appeals - General Information

FRBP 8001

 

 

An appeal is a request by a party to have a higher court consider an order already entered by the bankruptcy court.

There are two main types of appeal: Appeal by Right and Appeal by Leave (interlocutory).

Appeals can also be heard by the US Court of Appeals. A request for a matter to be sent directly to that court instead of to the District Court is called a Direct Appeal.

If a transcript of a hearing is to be requested in relation to the appeal, this should be done as early as possible since an outside agency, not the Clerk's office, prepares all transcripts.

See also related procedure: Motion for Stay Pending Appeal.

Appeal by Right

An Appeal by Right is an appeal of a final order or judgment and is initiated by the filing of a Notice of Appeal. This Notice must be filed within 14 days of the entry of the order being appealed. If more time is needed to file the Notice of Appeal, a Motion to Extend Time to Appeal Under Rule 8002(d) should be filed.

The appellant has 14 days after the filing of their Notice of Appeal to file an Appellant Designation. This is a list of all documents, including transcripts of hearings, that the appellant wishes to be sent to District Court as part of the appeal.

The appellee has 14 days from the date of filing of the Appellant Designation to file the Appellee Designation. This is a list of any items that the appellee wishes to be sent to District Court in addition to the documents already listed on the Appellant Designation.

If more time is needed to file a designation, a Motion to Extend Time to File Designation should be filed with the Bankruptcy Court.

Appeal by Leave (Interlocutory)

An Appeal by Leave is an appeal of an interlocutory (non-final) order or judgment and is initiated by the filing of a Notice of Appeal along with a Motion for Leave to Appeal. These documents must be filed within 14 days of the entry of the order being appealed. If more time is needed to file these documents, a Motion to Extend Time to Appeal Under Rule 8002(d) should be filed.

The appellee has 14 days from the filing of these documents to file an Answer in Opposition to Motion for Leave to Appeal. The deadline is calculated from the date the Motion was served on parties, not the date it was filed with the court.

District Court advises the Bankruptcy Court when a District Court case number and judge have been assigned. This information will be docketed on the bankruptcy case.

When the District Court judge has made their decision on whether or not the appeal will be allowed, the order granting or denying is docketed on the bankruptcy case.

If the order grants leave to appeal, the appellant has 14 days from the docketing of the order in the bankruptcy case to file an Appellant Designation. This is a list of all documents, including transcripts of hearings, that the appellant wishes to be sent to District Court as part of the appeal.

The appellee has 14 days from the date of filing of the Appellant Designation to file the Appellee Designation. This is a list of any items that the appellee wishes to be sent to District Court in addition to the documents already listed on the Appellant Designation.

Direct Appeals

A Direct Appeal is a request to have an appeal heard by the Court of Appeals,  instead of first obtaining appellate review from the District Court.

A Direct Appeal is initiated by filing a Notice of Appeal and one of the following:

  • Request for Certification for Direct Appeal to Court of Appeals - a party may file a response to the Request within 14 days after the request is served (FRBP 8006(f)(3));
  • Joint Certificate for Direct Appeal to Court of Appeals - the Bankruptcy Court may file a short supplemental statement about the merits of the Joint Certification within 14 days of its filing (FRBP 8006(c)(2)); or
  • Certification for Direct Appeal on the Court's own Motion - a party may file a short supplemental statement about the merits of the Court's Certification within 14 days of its entry (FRBP 8006(e)(2)).

The Notice of Appeal must be filed within 14 days of the entry of the order being appealed. If more time is needed, a Motion to Extend Time to Appeal Under Rule 8002(d) should be filed.

The appellant has 14 days after the filing of their Notice of Appeal to file an Appellant Designation. This is a list of all documents, including transcripts of hearings, that the appellant wishes the Court of Appeals review as part of the appeal.

The appellee has 14 days from the date of filing of the Appellant Designation to file the Appellee Designation. This is a list of any items that the appellee wishes the Court of Appeals review in addition to the documents already listed on the Appellant Designation.

The Bankruptcy Court may rule on a party's Request for Certification or the parties Joint Certification within the first 30 days after the effective date of the Notice of Appeal; thereafter, the ruling shall come from District Court under FRBP 8006(b).

If approved, the Bankruptcy Court will enter a Certification for Direct Appeal to Court of Appeals and transmit the initial documents to the Court of Appeals by email.

The Court of Appeals then notifies the Bankruptcy Court of the case number assigned to the appeal in its court. This case number is docketed on the bankruptcy docket.

The Court of Appeals will then determine whether it will hear the appeal. If the request to have the appeal heard by the Court of Appeals is granted, a docket-only order (no PDF) will be entered on the bankruptcy case. This order sets deadlines for briefs to be filed. The Direct Appeal fee (which is in addition to the previous Appeal Filing and Docketing fee) is due within 14 days of the entry of that order.

After expiration of the time allowed for filing briefs, the Bankruptcy Court will transmit the remainder of the appeal documents to the Court of Appeals, regardless of whether or not briefs were filed.