Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-01077/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-01077-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 422
Nature of Suit: Bankruptcy Appeals Rule 28 USC 158
Cause of Action: 28:0158 Notice of Appeal re Bankruptcy Matter (BAP)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

In re:

Arthur Louis Davis, 

Debtor, 

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No. CV 10-1077-PHX-JAT

ORDER

Pending before this Court is Debtor’s Motion for Leave to Appeal and Request for

Hearing. (Doc. #2). For the reasons below, this motion is denied due to improper procedure.

Debtor, Mr. Arthur Louis Davis, seeks to appeal a March 12, 2010 decision of the

Bankruptcy Court denying his Motion to Vacate Default Judgment. (Doc. #2 at 1). To

appeal an adverse decision of the Bankruptcy Court, a litigant must file a notice of appeal

with the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court. 9th Cir. BAP R. 8001(a)-1; LRBankr 8001-1; see

also Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8001(a). The clerk of the Bankruptcy Court will then forward the case

to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel clerk. 9th Cir. BAP R. 8001(a)-1. However, a litigant

may elect to have a district court hear his or her appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(c) by

filing a Statement of Election separate from his or her notice of appeal. 9th Cir. BAP R.

8001(a)-1; LRBankr 8001-1. If a litigant files a timely Statement of Election, the clerk of

Case 2:10-cv-01077-JAT Document 5 Filed 06/28/10 Page 1 of 3
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In this respect, the 9th Circuit’s procedure clarifies the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy

Procedure. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8001(a) (“An appeal. . . shall be taken by filing a notice

of appeal with the clerk within the time allowed by Rule 8002.”); Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9001(3)

(“‘Clerk’ means bankruptcy clerk if one has been appointed. . .”).

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the Bankruptcy Court will transfer the case to the district court. 9th Cir. BAP R. 8001(e)-1.1

Therefore, regardless of whether a litigant wishes to appeal to the district court or the

Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the litigant must file a notice of appeal with the Bankruptcy

Court. 9th Cir. BAP R. 8001(a)-1; LRBankr 8001-1. If a litigant mistakenly files a notice

of appeal with the clerk of the district court instead of the Bankruptcy Court, the district court

must transmit the notice of the appeal to the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court. Fed. R. Bankr.

P. 8002(a). The Bankruptcy Court will consider the notice of appeal filed on the day the

litigant filed it with the district court. Id.

Here, Mr. Davis filed his Motion for Leave to Appeal with this Court on May 14,

2010. (Doc. #2). Mr. Davis should have filed this motion with the clerk of the Bankruptcy

Court. See BAP R. 8001(a)-1; LRBankr 8001-1. This Court will therefore transmit his filing

to the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and it will be deemed to have been filed with that court

on May 14, 2010. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8002(a). Whether Mr. Davis’s motion is untimely

or whether Mr. Davis can show good cause for filing an untimely motion are therefore

decisions for the Bankruptcy Court.

The Court further notes that if a litigant wishes to have a district court, and not a

Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, hear his or her appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(c), he or she

must voice this request in a separate filing known as a Statement of Election. Fed. R. Bankr.

P. 8001(e). By requiring a separate Statement of Election, Congress intended that debtors

appeal their bankruptcy cases to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel by default and only to the

district court where “an actual election [was] knowingly and informatively made.” In re

Sullivan Jewelry, Inc., 218 B.R. 439, 441 (8th Cir. BAP 1998). In order to qualify as an

effective Statement of Election, this separate filing must not contain any arguments besides

the request to appeal to the district court. In re Hupp, 383 B.R. 476, 480 (B.A.P. 9th Cir.

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2008). Here, the Court is not aware of any separate filing requesting that the district court

hear this appeal. Mr. Davis’s Motion for Leave to Appeal and Request for Hearing cannot

be construed as an Statement of Election because it contains other arguments. See In re

Hupp, 283 B.R. at 480. If such an Statement of Election is forthcoming, it too must be filed

with the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8001(a).

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that Mr. Davis’s Motion for Leave to Appeal and Request for

Hearing (Doc. #2) is denied.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall close this case due

to improper procedure.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall transfer Mr. Davis’s

Motion for Leave to Appeal and Request for Hearing (Doc. #2) to the Clerk of the

Bankruptcy Court.

DATED this 28th day of June, 2010.

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