United States Ninth Circuit

In Chapter 13 proceedings involving the issue of debtor's Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) annuity, the decision of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) is reversed and remanded where: 1) although the BAP's decision is not final as a technical matter, the decision is reviewable because judicial efficiency weighs in favor of the assertion of appellate jurisdiction, and the resolution of the issue would not interfere with the bankruptcy court's fact-finding role; and 2) the debtor's RRA annuity income must be included when calculating his projected disposable income where 45 U.S.C section 231m(a) does not require courts to exclude RRA annuity income when calculating a debtor's "projected disposable income" under 11 U.S.C. section 1325(b).

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/15/2012
• Published 11/15/2012

Judges

• Watford

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel