Opinion ID: 470373
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 as a Basis for Jurisdiction

Text: 19 The general provision for the appeal of final orders of district courts, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291, provides a possible alternative basis for jurisdiction over these two appeals. A number of courts, including our own, have found this provision appropriate for review of bankruptcy decisions not falling within the scope of section 158. See generally cases cited supra. But see In re Teleport, 759 F.2d at 1378 (holding that sections 1291 and 1292 are inapplicable to bankruptcy proceedings). 20 In seeking jurisdiction under section 1291, however, appellants face the problem of finality. Our jurisdiction under section 1291 is to hear appeals from final orders. A final order is one that ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. Catlin v. United States, 324 U.S. 229, 233, 65 S.Ct. 631, 633, 89 L.Ed. 911 (1945). The denial of a motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds obviously does not end the litigation on the merits. Such a denial is therefore not a final order under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291. In re King Memorial Hospital Inc., 767 F.2d at 1510; John E. Burns Drilling Co., 739 F.2d at 1491-92. 21 We recognize that the general standards for appealability of bankruptcy orders are broader and more flexible than those that apply to ordinary civil cases. Compare 28 U.S.C. Sec. 158 and Mason v. Integrity Insurance Co. (In re Mason), 6 709 F.2d 1313, 1316-18 (9th Cir.1983), with 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 and Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 545-47, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 1225-26, 93 L.Ed.2d 1528 (1949). This is because certain proceedings in a bankruptcy case are so distinct and conclusive either to the rights of individual parties or the ultimate outcome of the case that final decisions as to them should be appealable as of right. In re Mason, 709 F.2d at 1317. The broader standard in bankruptcy cases is thus bottomed on the unique nature of bankruptcy, in which the court will adjudicate many issues with respect to many parties, all of which relate to each other only in that each could ultimately affect the estate. 22 Nevertheless, even assuming that this more flexible doctrine is appropriate for bankruptcy appeals brought under section 1291, 7 the circumstances of this appeal still do not present an appealable order. The issue addressed by the district court order is not a side issue with application only to a single creditor's or debtor's claim, as with the sale of a specific piece of property or the resolution of a particular tort claim. The district court's order here resolves a central issue for all the parties, the constitutionality of the authority of the bankruptcy judge who will adjudicate all the claims. It does not even touch the merits of any individual claim. Even under the most generous bankruptcy finality standard, this order is not final and thus not appealable pursuant to section 1291. 23 Under certain circumstances, an order may be appealed under section 1291 notwithstanding a lack of technical finality. Under the collateral order doctrine, a party may receive immediate review of a nonfinal district court order if the order conclusively determine[s] the disputed question, resolve[s] an important issue completely separate from the merits of the action, and [is] effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay, 437 U.S. 463, 468, 98 S.Ct. 2454, 2458, 57 L.Ed.2d 351 (1977) (footnote omitted). The order in the present case, affirming the constitutionality of sections 106 and 121, fails to meet the third requirement. The order is not one that, unless it is reviewed before the proceedings terminate, can never be reviewed at all. See Mitchell v. Forsyth, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2815, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985). It remains effectively reviewable on appeal from the final judgment. In re King Memorial Hospital, 767 F.2d at 1510. 24 We conclude that jurisdiction does not exist under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 158 or 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 for appeals Nos. 84-2805 and 85-1517. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeals.