Will a Debtor with the Right to Appeal an Order Denying Confirmation of a Bankruptcy Plan be Less Likely to Negotiate with Creditors? Justices Examine in Bullard
The Supreme Court on April 1 heard oral argument in Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, the second of two bankruptcy cases that the Court heard that day (an analysis of Harris v. Viegelahn appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the ABI Bankruptcy Brief). In Bullard, the Court took up the question of whether an order denying confirmation of a chapter 13 plan with leave to file an amended plan is a final order appealable as of right. While several Justices were skeptical of the dire consequences cited by respondent Blue Hills Bank, they also recognized that a debtor with the right to appeal an order denying confirmation of his plan might have less incentive to negotiate an acceptable compromise with his creditors.
This report appeared in the 4/9/15 e-newsletter of ABI (American Bankruptcy Institute), written by by Prof. Anne Lawton ABI Resident Scholar