United States Tenth Circuit

In re: Dittmar, 09-3230

In bankruptcy trustees' appeal from the judgment of the bankruptcy appellate panel holding that debtors' stock appreciation rights (SARs) were not part of debtors' bankruptcy estates under 11 U.S.C. section 541, the order is reversed where: 1) while the value of the SARs before any payment event occurred may have been de minimis, that did not mean that debtors did not have a property interest in the SARs; and 2) the SARs created by the collective bargaining agreement at issue were more akin to contingent pre-petition property rights than mere expectancies based on discretionary bonuses.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/14/2010
• Published 09/14/2010

Judges

• Paul J. Kelly

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gaye B. Tibbets, Michael J. Studtmann