United States Second Circuit

In an appeal from a district court's order dismissing a bankruptcy trustee's appeal for lack of standing and in the alternative affirming the bankruptcy court's decision to strike the bankruptcy petitions filed by respondents rather than to dismiss their cases, the order is vacated where: 1) the U.S. Trustee's responsibility to represent and protect the public interest afforded it a substantial interest in, and therefore standing, to proceed with this appeal; 2) the court needed only assure itself that it was deciding a live case or controversy, and Article III jurisdiction existed; and 3) the restrictions of 11 U.S.C. sections 301 and 109(h) were not jurisdictional, but rather elements that must be established to sustain a voluntary bankruptcy proceeding.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/26/2010
• Published 08/26/2010

Judges

• Debra Ann Livingston

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Stephanie R. Marcus, Sanford I. Weisburst