Opinion ID: 3054394
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Discretion to exercise jurisdiction

Text: Once it is established that we have jurisdiction to hear a direct appeal from a bankruptcy court, we must decide whether to exercise our discretion to hear the appeal. 28 U.S.C. § 158(d)(2)(A). We agree with the motions panel’s decision to accept this appeal. First, the issue presented by this appeal is important because the calculation of CMI is a part of every petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. See Schedule I (“Current Income of 4 At oral argument, the U.S. Trustee argued that because the Blauseys themselves did not file the notice of appeal in our court, the statutory requirements for jurisdiction were not met. Section 4 of 28 U.S.C. § 158 note, however, requires only that the petition “shall be filed.” It does not require that the petition be filed by one of the parties. BLAUSEY v. U.S. TRUSTEE 809 Individual Debtor(s)”). Second, this appeal presents a question of law, making it unlikely that further proceedings in the district court will cast more light on the issue. See Weber v. U.S. Trustee, 484 F.3d 154, 158 (2d Cir. 2007). Third, the bankruptcy courts lack a clear precedent for interpreting CMI. Although several bankruptcy courts and bankruptcy appellate panels have interpreted CMI and found that it is not defined by reference to the Internal Revenue Code,5 there are no circuit court decisions interpreting this provision. All of these factors lead us to conclude that judicial efficiency will be best served if we decide the issue now rather than remand it for consideration in the district court, from which an appeal could then be taken to our court.