2008 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

9-9-2008

In Re: Schaefer Salt

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Precedential

Docket No. 06-4574

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PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

 

No. 06-4574

 

IN RE: SCHAEFER SALT RECOVERY, INC.,

 Debtor

CAROL SEGAL,

 Appellant

 

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

(D.C. Civil No. 05-cv-05484)

District Judge: The Honorable Katharine S. Hayden

 

Argued: June 25, 2008

 

Before: SLOVITER, BARRY and ROTH, Circuit Judges

(Opinion Filed: September 9, 2008)

 

Stephen V. Falanga, Esq. (Argued)

Connell Foley

85 Livingston Avenue

Roseland, NJ 07068-0000

Counsel for Appellant

Nicholas Khoudary, Esq. (Argued)

700 Route 18

East Brunswick, NJ 08816-0000

Counsel for Appellees
2

 

OPINION OF THE COURT

 

BARRY, Circuit Judge

A distinguished judge of the United States Bankruptcy

Court for the District of New Jersey found that petitions filed

seriatim under Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code,

and quickly dismissed, were filed in bad faith in a blatant abuse of

the Bankruptcy Code and the Bankruptcy Court. Refusing to

allow the Court “to be used as a litigation tool,” sanctions were

imposed under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 on a finding that the

“reprehensible” conduct of counsel fell well within that statute by

having multiplied the proceedings unreasonably and vexatiously.

We will shortly turn our attention to the specific conduct

which led to the imposition of sanctions, and simply note at this

juncture that any suggestion that sanctions were not warranted or

should not have been awarded would be absurd. The question

before us, however, is not as simple as whether sanctions were in

order; rather, the question before us is this: did the Bankruptcy

Court err when it reversed itself after it came to believe that we

would invalidate the award under our “Pensiero supervisory

rule”—and more about that later —because the motion seeking

sanctions was not filed until after the entry of final judgment.

Although convinced that sanctions were warranted, the

Bankruptcy Court “regretfully” vacated the award, and the District

Court affirmed. 

We have not in a precedential opinion addressed certain of

the issues the Bankruptcy Court and the District Court so

thoughtfully addressed. Because we have not done so, it is not

surprising that those Courts did not accurately predict what we

would do. We will vacate the order of the District Court and

remand for further proceedings.

 

I.

On May 12, 2004, a mere eight days after it was formally
3

incorporated as a business entity, appellee Schaefer Salt Recovery,

Inc. (“SSR”) filed a bare bones petition under Chapter 11 of the

Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the

District of New Jersey. SSR’s only assets were mortgages on

three properties asto which tax lien foreclosure actions brought by

appellant Carol Segal (“Segal”) were pending in the Superior

Court of New Jersey. SSR’s Vice President and counsel, appellee

Nicholas Khoudary (“Khoudary”), advised Segal’s counsel that

the foreclosure actions were stayed as a result of the filing and

concomitantly filed Notices of Bankruptcy Filing in Segal’s

foreclosure actions. Presumably the automatic stay was one of the

reasons why Khoudary advised Segal’s counsel that “Segal was

skunked.” (A.111.)

On June 10, 2004, Segal moved to dismiss the Chapter 11

petition for cause pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 1112(b) and 105(a),

arguing that the petition had been filed for the sole purpose of

frustrating Segal’s efforts to conclude the pending foreclosure

actions. By order dated July 6, 2004, the Bankruptcy Court

granted the motion, dismissing the petition on a finding that it had

been filed in bad faith, but striking language in the proposed order

that would have barred SSR from filing another petition for one

hundred and eighty days. 

Following the dismissal, the foreclosure actions were

reinstated in the Superior Court. On August 13, 2004, in response

to what Segal describes as “this latest stalling tactic,” (Br. at 8),

the Superior Court granted Segal’s motion to strike SSR’s

answers, finding that they set forth no genuine issue of material

fact and no legally sufficient defense, and ordered the foreclosure

actions to go forward as uncontested matters. That same day, SSR

filed a new petition in the Bankruptcy Court, this time pursuant to

Chapter 7, for no apparent reason other than to cause the

automatic stay to again kick in. 

On August 7, 2004, Segal filed a motion to dismiss the

Chapter 7 petition for cause pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 707(a) and

105(a). In support of his motion for a short return date, Segal

argued that SSR had no creditors and no assets other than the

purported mortgages, and that this latest filing was nothing more

than a transparent litigation strategy to delay the foreclosure

actions then scheduled to take place in three days. 
4

A hearing date was set for August 24, 2004. On that date,

Khoudary advised the Bankruptcy Court that SSR consented to the

dismissal of the Chapter 7 petition and that he saw no need to

appear. The Court placed its ruling on the record in the presence

of Segal’s counsel. 

[We] received some calls from Mr. Khoudary

indicating that he would voluntarily dismiss the

bankruptcy proceeding due to his health and so on,

that he couldn’t be here. Now I have no problem

accepting that offer, with this proviso in light of the

dismissal of the case by the Court . . . [not] quite

eight weeks ago[.]

[I]n light of the timing of the most recent filing, I

am going to do a court order which dismisses the

case and imposes [a] 180 day bar on the filing of

any petition under any chapter of the Bankruptcy

Code. I found the last filing to be a bad faith filing.

I warned the parties and indeed I indicated I

expected that knowing the Court’s position . . . Mr.

Khoudary well knew the law [and] would not be so

foolish as to file a case that did not meet the

requirements of a good faith filing despite – and so

I struck the 180 day bar order language in the prior

order while the old adage, fool me once, shame on

you, fool me twice, shame on me, is that to be put

into effect here. I’ll take a voluntary dismissal, I’ll

reflect that in my order that I’m imposing [a] 180

day bar order. I will not allow this bankruptcy court

to be used as a litigation tool by a party who in truth

has not so much a reorganizational intent, but

intends to use the bankruptcy court as an offensive

weapon. That kind of use, frankly, offends not only

the Court but the Bankruptcy Code. 

(A.42-43.) The Court promptly entered an order granting the

motion to dismiss, noting that SSR “consents to dismissal,” and

prohibiting SSR from filing another petition under the Bankruptcy

Code for one hundred and eighty days. (A.145-46.)

Nine days later, on September 2, 2004, Segal moved under
5

Rule 9011 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the

Court’s inherent power for costs and attorneys’ fees against SSR

and Khoudary for filing successive, frivolous bankruptcy

petitions. On September 27, 2004, the Court heard argument, and

concluded that although it had “some question as to whether

[Rule] 9011 applie[d] . . .” given that “the matter is already

adjudicated,” (A.51), that did not end the matter.

[W]hat frustrates me about this case is on its face, in

my view, both the 11 filing and most particularly

the 7 filing were, in fact, abuse of the bankruptcy

process. 

Bankruptcy – use of bankruptcy petition is a

proper defensive weapon both for a debtor to

preserve an asset and to insure payment to creditors.

It’s not an offensive weapon, and in both instances

that’s what Schaefer Salt Recovery did. Let us not

forget that Schaefer Salt Recovery was rapidly

created to hold this mortgage, filed the first 11

without the benefit of counsel, notwithstanding it’s

a corporation, and indeed filed this second filing.

It’s not clear to me whether you, Mr. Khoudary, was

[sic] acting as the counsel for your own corporation

or not, but it strikes me that this falls well within the

purview of the statute dealing with vexatious

litigation where the filings are designed and do, in

fact, unreasonably multiply litigation that has

resulted not only in the consumption of Bankruptcy

Court resources but a back and forth in the State

Court. 

(A.51-52.) The Court, therefore, awarded attorneys’ fees and

costs against Khoudary under 28 U.S.C. § 1927, but only for the

“unnecessary return trip to Bankruptcy Court in the context of the

Chapter 7” because the Court did not believe that the statute

would cover the earlier filing. (A.52.) The Court directed counsel

for Segal to submit a certification of fees and costs, and counsel

did so, but the certification inexplicably fell through the cracks

and an order granting sanctions in a specific amount was not

entered. 
 Piscitelli v. Mirow (In re Nicola), 65 Fed. Appx. 759, 1

762-63 (3d Cir. 2003). We do not regard that opinion as

precedent that binds us and will not cite it as authority. Third

Circuit Internal Operating Procedure 5.7. It follows, therefore,

that we reject appellees’ argument that that case “controls” the

issue of whether the supervisory rule applies to proceedings in the

bankruptcy court. (Appellees’ Br. at 19.) 

6

By opinion and order dated August 24, 2005, the

Bankruptcy Court reversed the award of sanctions, having

determined, after further review, that the request for sanctions was

first made after the entry of final judgment and thus was untimely

under the supervisory rule we adopted in Mary Ann Pensiero, Inc.

v. Lingle, 847 F.2d 90 (3d Cir. 1988), for violations of Rule 11 of

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Bankruptcy Court,

relying on a not-precedential opinion of this Court which held that

the Pensiero supervisory rule applies to bankruptcy court

proceedings even where a de minimis period of time had elapsed

after final judgment, found that the supervisory rule was a bright

line rule from which deviation—here, nine days after final

judgment, i.e., the second dismissal—is not appropriate. The 1

Bankruptcy Court concluded that it “would be reasonable to

expect” us to view sanctions under § 1927 in the same manner as

we viewed Rule 11 sanctions and sanctions under a court’s

inherent power. 

Segal moved for reconsideration, a motion the Bankruptcy

Court “regretfully” denied. The Court explained: 

[B]elieve me, Schaefer Salt and the attorney, Mr.

Khoudary richly deserved a sanction, the problem

is, the timing with which it was done . . . I wasn’t

thinking, frankly, when I awarded sanctions as to

whether I was within the scope of my authority to

do so, because frankly I was so aggravated at the

blatant, blatant misuse of the bankruptcy code, that

I didn’t think about the fact that as I put it before,

that I don’t have this unlimited equity wand. 

. . . . 
 The District Court, as had the Bankruptcy Court before 2

it, rejected Segal’s argument that the Chapter 7 petition had been

voluntarily dismissed, finding, instead, that Segal’s motion to

dismiss had been granted and that, therefore, application of the

supervisory rule was required. It appears that, rightly or wrongly,

the Bankruptcy Court believed that with a voluntary dismissal of

7

. . . [I]t was not a voluntary dismissal. The

matter came on in front of me on a shorten time

motion to dismiss brought by your client. The

hearing that I held was based on the motion by your

client. Perhaps – I can’t even imagine what led Mr.

Khoudary to finally in his skirmishing, file this

letter voluntarily withdrawing the Schaefer Salt

bankruptcy. It doesn’t matter what he was thinking.

The Court held a hearing on the motion of Mr.

Siegel [sic], the Court issued an order based on Mr.

Siegel’s [sic] motion. That’s the Court order . . .

I’m not free to ignore . . . Third Circuit case law.

Believe me, I would like to ignore it. I find,

frankly, the conduct and I’m looking directly at Mr.

Khoudary to be unprofessional and particularly

inappropriate for someone who is not unfamiliar

with bankruptcy practice. At a minimum, I think

probably a couple of RPCs were violated, which I

probably should have noted for the appropriate

parties, but in light of the Third Circuit’s

supervisory rule, I can’t issue the sanctions. I wish

I could. 

(A.58-59.) 

Segal appealed both the denial of the motion for sanctions

and the denial of the motion for reconsideration to the District

Court. The District Court concluded that although we had not yet

extended the supervisory rule to sanctions under Bankruptcy Rule

9011 or 28 U.S.C. § 1927, it saw no reason why Rule 9011 and §

1927 sanctions should be treated differently than sanctions under

Rule 11 and a court’s inherent power. Accordingly, the District

Court affirmed the orders of the Bankruptcy Court, carefully

explaining why.2
the Chapter 7 petition, it would have been unable to enter an order

barring the filing of another petition for one hundred and eighty

days, a bar the Court was convinced was appropriate given the

facts. (A.46.) 

8

We applaud the careful consideration given this case by the

Bankruptcy Court and the District Court, and turn to the issues

before us. In determining whether the District Court erred in its

disposition of Segal’s appeal from the Bankruptcy Court, we

review the Bankruptcy Court’s orders applying the standard it was

appropriate for the District Court to apply. See Universal

Minerals, Inc. v. C.A. Hughes & Co., 669 F.2d 98, 102 (3d Cir.

1981). Because the Bankruptcy Court’s denial of sanctions and

denial of Segal’s motion for reconsideration were based on

statutory interpretation and legal analysis only, our review is

plenary. 

II.

The purpose of Rule 11 is to deter litigation abuse that is

the result of a particular “pleading, written motion, or other paper”

and, thus, streamline litigation. In Pensiero, “concerned with the

appropriate time for the filing and disposition of [Fed. R. Civ. P.

11] motions,” we crafted a supervisory rule that “all motions

requesting Rule 11 sanctions [must] be filed in the district court

before the entry of a final judgment” where such motions arise out

of conduct that occurred prior to the final judgment. 847 F.2d at

98, 100. The district court had granted summary judgment to the

defendant and the case was on appeal. While the appeal was

pending, the defendant moved for sanctions against the plaintiff

under Rule 11, and the district court granted the motion. On

plaintiff’s appeal of the award of sanctions, we reversed,

concluding that, in the context of Rule 11 sanctions, a supervisory

rule was justified to eliminate piecemeal appeals and to deter

further violations of Rule 11 later in that proceeding. We have

since extended Pensiero to a district court’ssua sponte imposition

of sanctions, concluding that the court “should decide the issue

prior to or concurrent with its disposition of the case on the

merits,” Simmerman v. Corino, 27 F.3d 58, 60 (3d Cir. 1994), and

to sanctions awarded under a court’s inherent power, Prosser v.
 We note that “[g]enerally, a court’s inherent power 3

should be reserved for those cases in which the conduct of a party

or an attorney is egregious and no other basis for sanctions exists.”

Martin v. Brown, 63 F.3d 1252, 1265 (3d Cir. 1995). A finding of

bad faith is “usually” required. In re Prudential Ins. Co. America

Sales Practice Litig., 278 F.3d 175, 181 (3d Cir. 2002). 

9

Prosser, 186 F.3d 403, 406 (3d Cir. 1999). In Simmerman, the 3

sanction we invalidated was imposed three months after entry of

the final order; in Prosser, the sanction we invalidated was

imposed more than thirty months after the final order. Most

recently, albeit in dicta, we observed that “[a]n obvious corollary”

to requiring parties to file their Rule 11 motion prior to final

judgment and requiring district courts when imposing sanctions

sua sponte to do so prior to or contemporaneously with final

judgment “is that district courts must resolve any issues about

imposition of sanctions prior to, or contemporaneously with,

entering final judgment.” Gary v. Braddock Cemetery, 517 F.3d

195, 202 (3d Cir. 2008). In accordance with the Pensiero line of

cases, district courts and bankruptcy courts have been applying,

with some regularity, the supervisory rule to sanctions sought

under Rule 11, a court’s inherent power, and Bankruptcy Rule

9011, Rule 9011 being in most respects a twin of Rule 11 tweaked

for the bankruptcy setting. 

We have not decided in a precedential opinion whether the

Pensiero supervisory rule applies to bankruptcy court proceedings.

That having been said, preventing piecemeal appeals and deterring

future abuse are, like Mom and apple pie, good things whatever

the court, and so it would seem, at least at first blush, that the

supervisory rule should apply to proceedings in the bankruptcy

court as well as to those in the district court. Certainly, district

courts and bankruptcy courts in the Third Circuit believe that to be

so. See, e.g., In re Tobacco Rd. Assocs., LP, No. 06-cv-2637,

2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22990, at *96 & n.158 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 30,

2007) (applying supervisory rule to Bankruptcy Rule 9011 after

finding it likely that Third Circuit would do so); In re Brown, No.

97-5302, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19188, at *10 n.2 (E.D. Pa. Dec.

3, 1998) (noting that Pensiero rule applies to Rule 9011 sanctions

as well as Rule 11 sanctions); Raymark Indus., Inc. v. Baron, No.

96-7625, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8871, at *28 (E.D. Pa. June 23,
10

1997) (although Third Circuit has yet to rule on issue, rationale for

supervisory rule applied to Rule 11 sanctions is same for Rule

9011 sanctions); In re HSR Assocs., 162 B.R. 680, 683 (Bankr.

D.N.J. 1994) (motion for sanctions under Rule 9011 untimely

under Pensiero). 

For the following reasons, we need not decide whether,

given the facts of this case, the supervisory rule applies to

sanctions sought in bankruptcy court under Rule 11, Bankruptcy

Rule 9011, or a court’s inherent power. It is well established, and

we recognized in Pensiero, that a district court, after the entry of

final judgment and the filing of a notice of appeal, retains the

power to adjudicate collateral matters such as sanctions under

Rule 11. Pensiero, 847 F.2d at 98. Indeed, citing Pensiero and as

relevant here, we have held that a district court has jurisdiction to

impose sanctions under Rule 11 even though the motion seeking

the sanctions was filed after the filing of a notice of voluntary

dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(i). Schering Corp. v. Vitarine

Pharm., Inc., 889 F.2d 490, 496 (3d Cir. 1989). 

To hold that a district court has no power to order

sanctions after a voluntary dismissal is to

emasculate Rule 11 in those cases where wily

plaintiffs file baseless complaints, unnecessarily sap

the precious resources of their adversaries and the

courts, only to insulate themselves from sanctions

by promptly filing a notice of dismissal. 

Id.; see also In re Bath and Kitchen Fixtures Antitrust Litig., No.

07-1520, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 15957, at *8 n.8 (3d Cir. July 28,

2008) (“A district court retains jurisdiction to decide ‘collateral’

issues—such as sanctions, costs, and attorneys’ fees—after a

plaintiff dismisses an action by notice.” (citing Cooter & Gell v.

Hartmax Corp., 496 U.S. 384, 396-98 (1990)). 

In Schering, we did not even mention the supervisory rule

and the prudential reasons underlying that rule, much less did we

find that sanctions were barred even though the motion for

sanctions was filed almost one and one-half months after the filing

of the notice of dismissal. Presumably we did not find the

supervisory rule worthy of mention because where there is a

voluntary dismissal, there is no danger of piecemeal appeals and
 Under the circumstances of this case, we need not 4

distinguish between a plaintiff who voluntarily dismisses an action

pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(i) and one who simply says,

as here, that he has voluntarily dismissed the action and the court

enters an order of dismissal. Indeed, we see no reason not to take

appellees at their word when they conceded four times in their

opposition to the motion for sanctions that the petition had been

voluntarily dismissed and/or withdrawn, and three times in their

opposition to the certification of fees and costs that the petition

had been voluntarily dismissed. 

11

no future conduct to deter, the predominant justifications for the

rule. 

It is, thus, fair to say, given Schering, that even if the

supervisory rule were to apply to bankruptcy court proceedings, a

bankruptcy court would not run afoul of that rule if it were to

impose sanctions, at least under Rule 11, following, as here, a

voluntary dismissal of one or both of the underlying bankruptcy

petitions. Moreover, we have held, albeit before the 1993 4

amendments to Rule 11 and the 1997 amendments to Bankruptcy

Rule 9011, that Rule 9011 is the equivalent sanctions rule under

Title 11 to Rule 11. See Stuebben v. Gioioso (In re Gioioso), 979

F.2d 956, 960 (3d Cir. 1992); Landon v. Hunt, 977 F.2d 829, 833

n.3 (3d Cir. 1992). Rule 9011, it is clear, discourages in

bankruptcy proceedings the same conduct proscribed by Rule

11—signing or advocating to the court a paper that violates the

certification standard of the Rule—with the purpose of both Rules

being to deter baseless filings. Accordingly, there appears to be

no reason, at least with reference to a voluntary dismissal, to come

to a different conclusion under Rule 9011. 

We have just referred to the 1993 amendments to Rule 11

and the 1997 amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 9011. The

revisions were substantial, particularly the addition of safe harbor

provisions which explicitly place greater restrictions on the

imposition of sanctions, including a significant change in the

timing of and decision on Rule 11 and Rule 9011 motions. Under

amended Rule 11 and amended Rule 9011, a party cannot file a

motion for sanctions or submit such a motion to the court if the

challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, or denial is
 We recognize, as we wonder, that those of our cases to 5

which we have earlier referred—Simmerman, Prosser, and

Gary—were all decided after the 1993 amendments and Prosser

and Gary after the 1997 amendments, yet we did not discuss the

effect of the amendments on the supervisory rule. 

 Two bankruptcy courts in the Third Circuit, aware that 6

Bankruptcy Rule 9011 was amended in 1997 to add a twenty-one

day safe harbor period, indicated, understandably, some

uncertainty as to what to do with the supervisory rule in light of

the amendment. See Cochran v. Reath (In re Reath), No. 04-

49188/JHW, Adv. No. 06-1531, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 4477, at *16-

*18 & n.6 (Bankr. D.N.J. Dec. 6, 2006) (concluding that “we do

not have compliance . . . with the safe harbor rule . . . [and thus]

cannot award sanctions under Rule 9011,” but noting that the

rationale for when, under Pensiero, Rule 11 motions must be

brought is the same as that for Rule 9011 motions); In re Jazz

Photo Corp., 312 B.R. 524, 534 (Bankr. D.N.J. 2004) (“Whether

a timely sanctions motion is required to preserve the twenty-oneday safe harbor period or ‘to carry out the objectives of

12

withdrawn or corrected within twenty-one days afterservice of the

motion on the offending party. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(c)(2); Fed. R.

Bankr. P. 9011(c)(1). If the twenty-one day period is not

provided, the motion must be denied. The purpose of the safe

harbor is to give parties the opportunity to correct their errors,

with the practical effect being that “a party cannot delay serving

its Rule 11 motion”—or, we suggest, its Rule 9011

motion—“until conclusion of the case (or judicial rejection of the

offending contention).” Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 advisory committee’s

notes to 1993 amendments. We wonder, then, whether the

supervisory rule, which we adopted in 1988 “[t]o carry out the

objectives of expeditious disposition,” Pensiero, 847 F.2d at 100,

retains much if any viability following the 1993 and 1997

amendments to Rules 11 and 9011. As has been noted with 5

reference to Rule 11, “[t]his safe harbor has had the salutary effect

of reducing Rule 11 volume while at the same time accomplishing

the goal of the Rule—streamlining litigation by eliminating abuses

proscribed by the Rule. It has the merit of doing so without

burdening the court.” Gregory P. Joseph: Sanctions: The Federal

Law of Litigation Abuse § 2(A)(4), at 25-26 (4th ed. 2008).6
expeditious disposition,’ the filing of a sanctions motion after

entry of final judgment is procedurally defective.” (quoting

Pensiero, 847 F.2d at 100) (emphasis in original)). 

 Indeed, the only “exception” in Rule 11, as amended, is 7

seen in subdivision (d), which clarified that Rule 11 is

inapplicable to any aspect of discovery because Rules 26(g) and

37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are specifically

designed for the discovery process and should cover the field,

rather than the more general provisions of Rule 11. Fed. R. Civ.

P. 11 advisory committee’s notes to 1993 amendments. 

13

And we wonder whether, at least in one important respect,

Bankruptcy Rule 9011 is really the equivalent sanctions rule to

Rule 11. Bankruptcy proceedings are unique, witness, for

example, the automatic stay. Under the Bankruptcy Code, the

filing of a petition for bankruptcy operates, with some exceptions,

as a stay of the commencement or continuation of certain judicial,

administrative, or other actions or proceedings against the debtor,

enforcement of judgments against a debtor or the property of the

estate, and other acts by creditors against debtors. 11 U.S.C. §

362(a). The purpose of the automatic stay is “to afford the debtor

a ‘breathing spell’ by halting the collection process. It enables the

debtor to attempt a repayment or reorganization plan with an aim

toward satisfying existing debt.” In re Siciliano, 13 F.3d 748, 750

(3d Cir. 1994). It also benefits creditors by preventing certain

creditors from acting unilaterally to obtain payment from the

debtor to the detriment of other creditors. Maritime Elec. Co., Inc.

v. United Jersey Bank, 959 F.2d 1194, 1204 (3d Cir. 1991). 

Congress addressed the serious consequences of the

automatic stay by adding an exception to the safe harbor provision

in the 1997 amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 9011 when the

offending “paper” is a petition for bankruptcy, something it did

not do in the amendments to Rule 11 in 1993. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7

9011(c)(1)(A). This, of course, renders meritless appellees’

argument that because the Chapter 7 petition was voluntarily

dismissed within the twenty-one day safe harbor period of Rule

9011, Segal received the relief he had demanded and could not,

therefore, seek sanctions. Congress explained the reason for the

bankruptcy petition exception: 
14

The filing of a petition has immediate serious

consequences, including the imposition of the

automatic stay under § 362 of the Code, which may

not be avoided by the subsequent withdrawal of the

petition. In addition, a petition for relief under

chapter 7 or chapter 11 may not be withdrawn

unless the court orders dismissal of the case for

cause after notice and a hearing. 

Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011 advisory committee’s notes to 1997

amendments. The exception evidences a concern that a party

subject to an automatic stay would be forced to choose between

seeking sanctions, which would require it to wait up to twenty-one

days before seeking dismissal of the petition, and the immediate

filing of a motion to dismiss the bad faith petition. Without the

exception, a party would be forced to abandon its request for

sanctions in order to seek dismissal of the petition as quickly as

possible. 

Fortunately, we are able to leave these interesting issues to

another day, and move to 28 U.S.C. § 1927, the statute on which

the Bankruptcy Court based its award of sanctions against

Khoudary, only to later reverse itself anticipating that we would

do so if it did not. Unlike Rule 11 and Bankruptcy Rule 9011,

which are lengthy and impose specific procedural requirements

with which a party seeking sanctions must comply, § 1927 is short

and clear: 

Any attorney or other person admitted to conduct

cases in any court of the United States or any

Territory thereof who so multiplies the proceedings

in any case unreasonably and vexatiously may be

required by the court to satisfy personally the excess

costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees reasonably

incurred because of such conduct. 

28 U.S.C. § 1927. 

Section 1927 “requires a court to find an attorney has (1)

multiplied proceedings; (2) in an unreasonable and vexatious

manner; (3) thereby increasing the cost of the proceedings; and (4)

doing so in bad faith or by intentional misconduct.” In re
 The Bankruptcy Court agreed, and awarded sanctions for 8

the Chapter 7 filing only—the “unnecessary return trip” to the

Bankruptcy Court. 

15

Prudential Ins. Co. America Sales Practice Litig., 278 F.3d 175,

188 (3d Cir. 2002). Khoudary does not take issue with these

requirements, nor does he disagree that the principal purpose of

sanctions under § 1927 is “the deterrence of intentional and

unnecessary delay in the proceedings.” Zuk v. E. Pa. Psychiatric

Inst. of the Med. Coll. of Pa., 103 F.3d 294, 297 (3d Cir. 1996)

(citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Nor, we note, has

Khoudary ever argued that a bankruptcy court does not have the

power to impose sanctions under § 1927. 

The Bankruptcy Court and the District Court both believed

that we would apply the supervisory rule with its Rule 11

foundation to sanctions under § 1927 given how the supervisory

rule had been reaffirmed and, in fact, extended by us in

Simmerman, Prosser, and Gary. But there are distinctions

between Rule 11 (and Bankruptcy Rule 9011) and § 1927,

distinctions which make a difference. Importantly, for example,

§ 1927 explicitly covers only the multiplication of proceedings

that prolong the litigation of a case and likely not the initial

pleading, as the proceedings in a case cannot be multiplied until

there is a case. 

8

The Tenth Circuit discussed our supervisory rule, but

essentially dismissed it, and concluded that a motion under § 1927

is not untimely if made after final judgment. 

Although the Third Circuit has adopted a

“supervisory rule” that sanction issues under Rule

11 and the inherent power of the court must be

decided before or concurrent to the final judgment,

. . . we see no reason to extend such a rule to § 1927

in this circuit. Unlike Rule 11, the application of §

1927 may become apparent only at or after the

litigation’s end, given that the § 1927 inquiry is

whether the proceedings have been unreasonably

and vexatiously multiplied. Even the Third Circuit

seems to recognize that Rule 11 does not require
One notable exception, however, is Langer v. 9

Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia, Nos. 87-4000, 88-

1064, 91-1814, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9448 (E.D. Pa. July 3,

1995). The Langer court, observing that we had interpreted the

Pensiero rule broadly and predicting that we would be amenable

to extending it beyond its Rule 11 roots, applied the supervisory

rule to preclude an award of sanctions under § 1927 for conduct

which had occurred years before and spawned piecemeal

litigation—“three final judgments have been entered . . . and yet,

the ‘zombie’ litigation over this conduct continues.” Id. at *6-*8.

16

such a “protracted scrutiny,” because Rule 11

focuses only on a challenged pleading or written

motion. Inherent-power sanctions are also capable

of a narrow focus, as the inquiry is whether a person

has abused the judicial process by acting “in bad

faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive

reasons.” But we need not decide whether that

capability necessarily allows a court to reach

abusive conduct earlier through its inherent power

than through § 1927. We simply conclude that

§1927 sanctions are not untimely if sought or

imposed after final judgment. 

Steinert v. Winn Group, Inc., 440 F.3d 1214, 1223 (10th Cir.

2006) (citations omitted); see also, e.g., Ridder v. City of

Springfield, 109 F.3d 288, 297 (6th Cir. 1997) (“Unlike Rule 11

sanctions, a motion for excess costs and attorney fees under §

1927 . . . [is not] untimely if made after the final judgment in a

case.”). Courts within the Third Circuit, almost without

exception, have similarly not applied the supervisory rule to

motions under § 1927. See, e.g., Loftus v. Se. Pa. Transp. Auth.,

8 F. Supp. 2d 458, 460 n.4 (E.D. Pa. 1998); In re Jazz Photo

Corp., 312 B.R. 524, 541 (Bankr. D.N.J. 2004); see also 9

Vandeventer v. Wabash Nat’l Corp., 893 F. Supp. 827, 842-43

(N.D. Ind. 1995) (report and recommendation of magistrate judge

adopted by district court and submitted for publication with

district court opinion). The Vandeventer opinion explained why

sanctions under § 1927 can “normally” only be determined when

the case is over: 
 Courts within the Third Circuit have noted that whether 10

a bankruptcy court has the power to impose sanctions under §

17

Section 1927, is different [from Rule 11], in

that it is designed to have those counsel who engage

in unreasonable and vexatious conduct, pay the

“excess costs, expenses and attorney fees incurred

because of such conduct.” In most such cases, the

determination of what are truly excess costs,

expenses, and attorney fees cannot be determined

until the close of the litigation. In addition, § 1927

has been interpreted to impose a continuing

obligation on attorneys to dismiss claims that are no

longer viable. Given this “continuing obligation” it

is normally best to wait until the end of the

litigation to precisely determine what claims were

non-viable as well as when it was that they became

non-viable. 

Id. at 845-46 (citations omitted). 

We, too, conclude that, to the extent the supervisory rule

remains viable, it does not apply where sanctions are sought under

§ 1927. That having been said, however, a motion for sanctions

should be filed within a reasonable time. We need not define in

this case the outer limits of “reasonable” given that Segal filed his

motion for sanctions a mere nine days after the Chapter 7

petition—the petition that “multiplie[d] the proceedings”— was

voluntarily dismissed. Nine days clearly fits within any definition

of “outer limits.” The Bankruptcy Court, therefore, was well

within its rights to determine, as it initially did, that Khoudary

could be sanctioned under § 1927. 

Or was it? The supervisory rule aside, courts are split as to

whether a bankruptcy court has the power to impose sanctions

under § 1927, with the answer to that question typically turning on

whether, in the words of § 1927, a bankruptcy court is a

jurisdictionally separate “court of the United States,” or whether,

for jurisdictional purposes, there is only one court—the district

court—of which a bankruptcy court is an arm, a unit. We have

not yet addressed the question. 

10
1927 is an open question. See, e.g., Hayes v. Genesis Health

Ventures, Inc. (In re Genesis Health Ventures, Inc.), 362 B.R. 657,

661-62 (D. Del. 2007) (noting that Third Circuit has not expressly

ruled on question whether bankruptcy court has power to award

sanctions under § 1927); Raymark Indus., Inc., 1997 U.S. Dist.

LEXIS 8871, at *26 n.11 (questioning whether bankruptcy courts

have power to impose sanctions under § 1927); Argus Group

1700, Inc. v. Steinman, Nos. 96-8011, 96-8244, 96-8618, 1997

U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1834, at *11 n.2 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 20, 1997)

(noting that while Third Circuit has not ruled on whether

bankruptcy court has power to impose sanctions under § 1927,

several bankruptcy courts have imposed § 1927 sanctions where

bankruptcy case was filed in bad faith); In re Reath, 2006 Bankr.

LEXIS 4477, at *20 n.8(noting that courts have debated

availability of § 1927 in bankruptcy courts); In re Jazz Photo

Corp., 312 B.R. at 540 n.26 (noting that, although courts are split

on applicability of § 1927 to bankruptcy courts and Third Circuit

has not ruled on issue, several bankruptcy courts have imposed §

1927 sanctions where bankruptcy case was filed in bad faith). 

18

Now, of course, no one would disagree that bankruptcy

courts are considered to be, and are respected as, courts of the

United States. The historical and statutory notes to § 1927,

however, refer to the definition of “court of the United States” in

28 U.S.C. § 451, the definition section for Title 28 in its entirety.

Section 451 states in pertinent part:

The term “court of the United States” includes the

Supreme Court of the United States, courts of

appeals, district courts constituted by chapter 5 of

[Title 28], including the Court of International

Trade and any court created by Act of Congress the

judges of which are entitled to hold office during

good behavior.

Bankruptcy courts, it is clear, are not listed explicitly in § 451. 

Some courts have held that, given the definition of “court

of the United States” in § 451, a bankruptcy court does not have

the authority to impose sanctions under § 1927 nor, indeed, to

grant relief under other sections of Title 28—a bankruptcy court
Other courts disagree, finding that the proposed 11

amendment was deleted as no longer necessary because Congress

had by that time made bankruptcy courts units of the district court.

See, e.g., Stone v. Casiello (In re Casiello), 333 B.R. 571, 575

(Bankr. D. Mass. 2005); see also infra note 14. 

19

is simply not a “court of the United States.” See, e.g., Jones v.

Bank of Santa Fe (In re Courtesy Inns, Ltd., Inc.), 40 F.3d 1084,

1086 (10th Cir. 1994) (no authority to impose § 1927 sanctions,

especially in light of fact that Congress omitted from 1984

amendments provisions proposed in 1978 amendments, prior to

their effective date, which would have added bankruptcy courts to

§ 451); Perroton v. Gray (In re Perroton), 958 F.2d 889, 893-96 11

(9th Cir. 1992) (no authority to waive filing fees under 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(a)); Gower v. Farmers Home Admin. (In re Davis), 899

F.2d 1136, 1138-40 (11th Cir. 1990) (no authority to award fees

under 28 U.S.C. § 2412); Miller v. Cardinale (In re Deville), 280

B.R. 483, 494 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2002) (no authority to award fees

under 28 U.S.C. § 1927); c.f. Internal Revenue Serv. v. Brickell

Inv. Corp. (In re Brickell Inv. Corp.), 922 F.2d 696, 699-701 (11th

Cir. 1991) (no authority to award fees under definition of “courts

of the United States” in 26 U.S.C. § 7430). 

The reasoning of those cases is essentially as follows. The

definition of “court of the United States” in § 451 is limited to an

Article III court, because the judge or judges of the court must

“hold office during good behavior,” i.e., they are appointed for

life, assuming “good behavior.” Because bankruptcy judges are

appointed for a term of fourteen years under 28 U.S.C. §

152(a)(1), bankruptcy courts do not fall within the § 451 definition

of “court of the United States.” See In re Courtesy Inns, 40 F.3d

at 1086 (bankruptcy judges serve a specified term of fourteen

years); In re Perroton, 958 F.2d at 893-94 (the “good behavior”

language of § 451 tracks that of Article III and so a “court of the

United States” denotes an Article III court whose judges may be

removed only by impeachment). Moreover, bankruptcy courts are

not Article III courts because Section I of Article III requires that

judges “shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a

compensation, which shall not be diminished during their

Continuance in Office.” The salaries of bankruptcy judges are not

“immune from diminution by Congress.” N. Pipeline Constr. Co.
 We note that Adair cited In re Volpert, 110 F.3d 494 12

(7th Cir. 1997), as the sole support for its conclusion that

bankruptcy courts can impose § 1927 sanctions, but the

Volpert court explicitly left that question unanswered. See id. at

500. 

 Bankruptcy courts have also been deemed to be units of 13

the district court under statutory provisions other than § 451. See,

e.g., United States v. Yochum (In re Yochum), 89 F.3d 661, 668-69

(9th Cir. 1996) (bankruptcy courts are units of district court and

are by analogy “courts of the United States” as defined by 26

U.S.C. § 7430); Grewe v. United States (In re Grewe), 4 F.3d 299,

304 (4th Cir. 1993) (district courts are “courts of the United

States” and bankruptcy courts, as units of district court, qualify as

“courts of the United States” under 26 U.S.C. § 7430). 

20

v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50, 61 (1982). 

Other courts have held that bankruptcy courts have the

authority to impose sanctions under § 1927. The Seventh and

Second Circuits have so concluded, albeit without discussion,

thereby finding, at least implicitly, that a bankruptcy court is a

“court of the United States.” See Adair v. Sherman, 230 F.3d 890,

895 n.8 (7th Cir. 2000); Baker v. Latham Sparrowbush Assoc. (In

re Cohoes Indus. Terminal, Inc.), 931 F.2d 222, 230 (2d Cir.

1991). 

12

A number of courts, however, have gone beyond a bare

bones finding that a bankruptcy court is—or is not—a “court of

the United States” and concluded that, although a bankruptcy

court is not a jurisdictionally separate court for purposes of § 451,

it, nonetheless, is within the definition of § 451 because of its

status as a unit of the district court, with the district court clearly

being a “court of the United States.” See, e.g., Volpert v. Ellis (In

re Volpert), 177 B.R. 81, 88-89 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 1995), aff’d, 186

B.R. 240 (N.D. Ill. 1995), aff’d on other grounds, 110 F.3d 494

(7th Cir. 1997). These cases conclude that bankruptcy courts are 13

not separate from, but rather are units of the district court and

thus, by analogy, “courts of the United States,” deriving their

jurisdiction from 28 U.S.C. § 157(a), which grants a district court

discretion to refer bankruptcy matters to the bankruptcy courts.
 Northern Pipeline held that the grant to the bankruptcy 14

courts of original jurisdiction over all bankruptcy matters in the

Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-598, 92 Stat.

2549 (1978), did not pass constitutional muster. Congress

subsequently passed BAFJA, thereby establishing the

jurisdictional scheme in effect today. Under BAFJA, Congress

empowered district courts to refer “any or all cases under title 11

and any or all proceedings arising under title 11 or arising in or

related to a case under title 11" to bankruptcy courts. 28 U.S.C.

§ 157(a). Bankruptcy courts became units of the district courts

and bankruptcy judges became judicial officers of the district

courts. 28 U.S.C. §§ 151 and 152. 

21

See also D&B Countryside, L.L.C. v. Newell (In re D&B

Countryside, L.L.C.), 217 B.R. 72, 76 n.5 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 1998)

(bankruptcy court is unit of district court and can grant costs under

28 U.S.C. § 1920 by virtue of 28 U.S.C. §§ 151 and 157). 

Perhaps the most comprehensive examination of the

jurisdictional scheme created in response to Northern Pipeline by

the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984

(“BAFJA”), Pub. L. No. 98-353, 98 Stat. 333 (1984), is found in 14

the bankruptcy court’s opinion in In re Volpert. The court

concluded, following an exhaustive analysis, that the answer to

whether a bankruptcy court can entertain a motion under § 1927

does not turn on whether it is a “court of the United States”;

rather, it turns on whether § 1927 should be construed to prevent

a referral that is “clearly” within the scope of § 157 and the “very

broad referral order” of the district court. In re Volpert, 177 B.R.

at 89-90. The court determined that § 1927 should not be so

construed. Because, therefore, a district court, as a court of the

United States, may impose sanctions under § 1927, it may also

refer a motion which requests the imposition of such sanctions to

a bankruptcy court. Id. at 90. 

The Seventh Circuit affirmed In re Volpert on an

alternative ground—the bankruptcy court had “ample authority”

to sanction misbehavior under 11 U.S.C. § 105, Bankruptcy Rule

9011, and the court’s inherent power. In re Volpert, 110 F.3d at

500-01. That being so, the Seventh Circuit found no need to reach

the question of whether the bankruptcy court could also impose
22

sanctions under § 1927. Id. at 500. The Eighth Circuit similarly

saw no need to do so, stating as follows: 

Although we have questioned whether a bankruptcy

court has the power to award sanctions under §

1927, we conclude that the court had ample

alternative authority to sanction . . . . Section 105

gives to bankruptcy courts the broad power to

implement the provisions of the bankruptcy code

and to prevent an abuse of the bankruptcy process,

which includes the power to sanction counsel. . . .

[and] jurisdiction under Bankruptcy Rule 9011 to

assess attorney’s fees as sanctions. . . .

Walton v. LaBarge (In re Clark), 223 F.3d 859, 864 (8th Cir.

2000) (citations omitted). 

We will reach the question. We find that although a

bankruptcy court is not a “court of the United States” within the

meaning of § 451, it is a unit of the district court, which is a “court

of the United States,” and thus the bankruptcy court comes within

the scope of § 451. Under 28 U.S.C. § 157 and the Standing

Order of the United States District Court for the District of New

Jersey, which delegate authority to the bankruptcy courts in the

District of New Jersey to hear Title 11 cases as well as “any and

all proceedings” necessary to hear and decide those cases, the

Bankruptcy Court had the authority to impose sanctions against

Khoudary under § 1927. 

We will, therefore, vacate the order of the District Court

which affirmed the orders of the Bankruptcy Court denying

Segal’s motion for sanctions and his motion for reconsideration of

that denial. We will remand for a determination as to whether

sanctions should be imposed against Khoudary under § 1927

and/or against SSR and Khoudary under one or more of the Rules

we have discussed or, perhaps, under § 105. Although we have

not found it necessary to address all the ways in which § 1927, the

Rules, and § 105 differ in scope and impact, we trust that this

Opinion gives the parties, the Bankruptcy Court, and the District

Court the guidance they may heretofore have lacked.