Opinion ID: 4211955
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: We Have Jurisdiction Over This Appeal.

Text: The bankruptcy court’s ruling must be final for this court to exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 158(d). Zolg v. Kelly (In re Kelly), 841 F.2d 908, 911 (9th Cir. 1988). Here, the bankruptcy court denied Aspen’s motion to dismiss, and the BAP affirmed. Ordinarily, orders denying a motion to dismiss would not constitute final, appealable orders because they do not “end[] the litigation on the merits and leave[] nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.” Sahagun v. Landmark Fence Co. (In re Landmark Fence Co.), 801 F.3d 1099, 1102 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Risjord, 449 U.S. 368, 373–74 (1981)). In bankruptcy appeals, however, we have recognized “that the fluid and sometimes chaotic nature of bankruptcy proceedings necessitates a degree of jurisdictional flexibility.” Id. A bankruptcy court’s order that is affirmed or reversed by the BAP is final and appealable where the order: “1) resolves and seriously affects substantive rights and 2) finally determines the discrete issue to which it is addressed.” SS Farms, LLC v. Sharp (In re SK Foods, L.P.), IN RE CHERRETT 9 676 F.3d 798, 802 (9th Cir. 2012) (quoting Dye v. Brown (In re AFI Holding), 530 F.3d 832, 836 (9th Cir. 2008)). We have not expressly decided whether a bankruptcy court’s order denying a motion to dismiss under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) constitutes a final, appealable order. The majority of circuits that have addressed the issue have concluded that orders on motions to dismiss for abuse of Chapter 7 are appealable. See Morse v. Rudler (In re Rudler), 576 F.3d 37, 43 (1st Cir. 2009) (collecting cases); but see Barben v. Donovan (In re Donovan ), 532 F.3d 1134, 1137 (11th Cir. 2008) (holding that an order denying a motion to dismiss a Chapter 7 case under an earlier version of § 707(b) was not appealable). These circuits recognize that the current version of § 707(b), part of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, “manifest[s] a congressional policy to police all Chapter 7 cases for abuse at the outset of a Chapter 7 proceeding” as well as “pragmatic considerations that indicate that the denial of a § 707(b) motion to dismiss is different from the denial of other motions to dismiss.” McDow v. Dudley, 662 F.3d 284, 288 (4th Cir. 2011). We have often concluded that other bankruptcy court orders are final and appealable based on “policies of judicial efficiency and finality.” Kelly, 841 F.2d at 911; see also Meyer v. U.S. Trustee (In re Scholz), 699 F.3d 1167, 1170 (9th Cir. 2012). These policies apply in this case. As the Fourth Circuit explained: Section 707(b) creates a statutory gateway based on whether the case is abusive, and an order denying that motion to dismiss as abusive, in effect, finally and conclusively 10 IN RE CHERRETT resolves the issue. If the denial of a § 707(b) motion to dismiss cannot be appealed immediately . . . , the Chapter 7 proceedings would have to be completed before it could be determined whether the proceedings were abusive in the first place. McDow, 662 F.3d at 289–90. Here, the bankruptcy court’s order resolved the Cherretts’ ability to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. The order conclusively determined the discrete issue whether the Cherretts’ debt was primarily nonconsumer and therefore subject to discharge under Chapter 7. We thus hold that the bankruptcy court’s order denying Aspen’s motion to dismiss under § 707(b) was final and appealable to this court.2