Opinion ID: 470373
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 28 U.S.C. Sec. 158(d) as a Basis for Jurisdiction

Text: 12 Jurisdiction over these two appeals arguably exists under the jurisdictional component of the 1984 Act, codified at 28 U.S.C. Sec. 158. 3 Section 158(d) provides this court with jurisdiction over judgments from district courts entered under subsection (a) of this section. Section 158(a) vests district courts with jurisdiction only over appeals from bankruptcy courts. By its literal terms, therefore, section 158 vests this court with jurisdiction over district courts' decisions only if those decisions are rendered on appeal from bankruptcy courts. 1984 Act Sec. 104(a), 28 U.S.C. Sec. 158(a), (d). 13 The order at issue in these appeals was entered by the district court in the first instance, rather than on appeal from a bankruptcy court. Because the district court had withdrawn the reference of the constitutional issue from the bankruptcy court, the bankruptcy court did not consider the issue. Thus the order here does not fall within the literal language of section 158(d). 14 We are not persuaded to extend our jurisdiction under section 158 beyond its literal terms. First, we are hesitant to do so without some clear indication that such an extension is consistent with congressional intent. Here, no such indication exists. Moreover, the 1984 Act uses much narrower language than its predecessor, the 1978 Act, in conferring specific bankruptcy jurisdiction on this court. The 1978 Act gave this court jurisdiction over any appeal from a final judgment, order, or decree of a ... District court of the United States, without specifying whether such final orders must have been entered in appeals from bankruptcy courts. 1978 Act, Sec. 236(a) (formerly codified at 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1293(b) (1982)). The narrowing of this language in the 1984 Act suggests a limiting of the circumstances under which this avenue of appeal may be used and is inconsistent with the expansive reading necessary to save our jurisdiction under section 158(d). 15 We note that the precedent of this circuit is not particularly helpful in determining the propriety of expanding our jurisdiction under section 158 beyond its literal terms. An early opinion involving the 1984 act concludes that section 158 is the exclusive basis of jurisdiction in the appellate courts in bankruptcy matters. Teleport Oil Co. v. Security Pacific National Bank (In re Teleport Oil Co.), 759 F.2d 1376, 1378 (9th Cir.1985). Because section 158 is silent about appeal of orders entered in the district court in the first instance, Teleport suggests that we would have to stretch section 158 beyond its literal terms to establish appellate jurisdiction in this case. 4 Later cases, however, have found both concurrent and exclusive appellate jurisdiction over various bankruptcy matters pursuant to sections other than section 158. See, e.g., In Re Manoa Finance, 781 F.2d 1370, 1372 (9th Cir.1986) (appeal from the decision of a district court judge sitting in bankruptcy court, finding direct appellate jurisdiction to this court under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291); In re Pacific Express, Inc., 780 F.2d 1482, 1484 (9th Cir.1986) (appeal from district court affirmance of bankruptcy court decision, finding jurisdiction pursuant to both sections 158 and 1291); In re Daley, 776 F.2d 834, 836 (9th Cir.1985) (same, finding jurisdiction only under section 1291); In re Kemble, 776 F.2d 802, 805 (9th Cir.1985) (appeal of district court's order granting relief from automatic stay and withdrawal of reference, jurisdiction evaluated under section 1291); In re Hill, 775 F.2d 1385, 1385-86 (9th Cir.1985) (appeal of district court dismissal of appeal from bankruptcy court decision, finding jurisdiction only under section 1291). But see In re Cecchini, 780 F.2d 1440, 1441 (9th Cir.1986) (appeal from bankruptcy appellate panel's affirmance of bankruptcy court decision, finding jurisdiction only under section 158); In re 405 North Bedford Drive Corp., 778 F.2d 1374, 1376-77 (9th Cir.1985) (appeal from district court affirmance of bankruptcy court decision, finding jurisdiction under section 158, citing Teleport ). 16 Although our own precedent is inconsistent, the majority of the circuits that have considered this issue do not expand section 158(d) beyond its terms or treat it as the sole source of jurisdiction over bankruptcy appeals. See, e.g., In re Salem Mortgage Co., 783 F.2d 626, 631-32 & n. 15 (6th Cir.1986) (finding jurisdiction under section 1291 and criticizing Teleport ); In re King Memorial Hospital, 767 F.2d 1508, 1510 (11th Cir.1985) (per curiam) (considering jurisdiction under sections 1291 and 1292); In re Martin-Trigona, 763 F.2d 135, 138-39 (2d Cir.1985) (same); In re Amatex Corp., 755 F.2d 1034, 1038-39 & n. 4 (3d Cir.1985) (finding jurisdiction under 1291 and rejecting it under 158 because district court acted pursuant to original, not appellate, jurisdiction); see also John E. Burns Drilling Co. v. Central Bank of Denver, 739 F.2d 1489, 1491-92 (10th Cir.1984) (per curiam) (considering jurisdiction under section 1291 as well as section 158's predecessor in the 1978 Act); In re UNR Industries, 725 F.2d 1111, 1115, (7th Cir.1984) (alternatively holding that section 1291 confers jurisdiction during transitional period of 1978 Act). But see In re Barrier, 776 F.2d 1298, 1299 (5th Cir.1985) (holding that section 158 is comprehensive, relying heavily on Teleport ). 17 In summary, we hold that appeals in bankruptcy cases may be taken to this court pursuant to section 158(d) only if the order appealed from is within the scope of section 158(a), a bankruptcy court order appealed to a district court. If an appeal from the district court to this court did not reach the district court through section 158(a), section 158(d) has no application. 5 In the present case, the district court's order was not an appeal from the bankruptcy court under section 158(a), and jurisdiction therefore cannot lie in this court under section 158(d). 18