Massachusetts Casualty Insurance v. Green
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Theophilus Green appeals pro se the district court’s dismissal of his appeal from the bankruptcy court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company (“MCIC”). The bankruptcy court concluded that debts owed by Green to MCIC were nondischargeable under the Bankruptcy Code. One week after the bankruptcy court entered its order, Green tried to appeal by filing three documents: “Notice of Filing”; “Defendant’s Motion for Leave to Appeal”; and “Defendant’s Motion for Appeal: Oral Hearing Requested.” The district court, however, concluded that these documents did not constitute a proper notice of appeal and dismissed his appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Rule 8001(a) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy requires that a notice of appeal (1) “conform substantially to the appropriate Official Form,” (2) contain the names of the parties, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the parties’ counsel, and (3) be accompanied by the filing fee. Bankruptcy Rule 8002(a) requires that the notice be filed within ten days from the entry of judgment; failure to do so deprives the district court of subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., In the Matter of Maurice, 69 F.3d 830, 832 (7th Cir. 1995). MCIC concedes that Green paid the filing fee and that he filed the three documents within 10 days of the bankruptcy court’s decision, but nevertheless argues that his submissions did not
Accordingly, we VACATE the judgment of the district court and REMAND for further proceedings.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re: Theophilus GREEN, Debtor. Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company v. Theophilus Green
- Status
- Published