In Re George I. Benny and Alexandra Benny, Debtors. (Four Cases) Alexandra Benny, Debtor-Appellant v. John M. England, Trustee Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., United States of America, Intervenor-Appellant v. John M. England, Trustee, Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., Keith M. Lundin, Mark B. McFeely William L. Norton, George C. Paine, Iii, Hugh Robinson and Arthur N. Votolato, Jr., Bankruptcy Judges, Applicants for Intervention-Appellants v. Alexandra Benny, Debtor-Appellee. United States of America, Intervenor-Petitioner-Appellee v. John M. England, Trustee Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc.

791 F.2d 712
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 9, 1986
Docket85-1530
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 791 F.2d 712 (In Re George I. Benny and Alexandra Benny, Debtors. (Four Cases) Alexandra Benny, Debtor-Appellant v. John M. England, Trustee Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., United States of America, Intervenor-Appellant v. John M. England, Trustee, Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., Keith M. Lundin, Mark B. McFeely William L. Norton, George C. Paine, Iii, Hugh Robinson and Arthur N. Votolato, Jr., Bankruptcy Judges, Applicants for Intervention-Appellants v. Alexandra Benny, Debtor-Appellee. United States of America, Intervenor-Petitioner-Appellee v. John M. England, Trustee Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re George I. Benny and Alexandra Benny, Debtors. (Four Cases) Alexandra Benny, Debtor-Appellant v. John M. England, Trustee Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., United States of America, Intervenor-Appellant v. John M. England, Trustee, Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., Keith M. Lundin, Mark B. McFeely William L. Norton, George C. Paine, Iii, Hugh Robinson and Arthur N. Votolato, Jr., Bankruptcy Judges, Applicants for Intervention-Appellants v. Alexandra Benny, Debtor-Appellee. United States of America, Intervenor-Petitioner-Appellee v. John M. England, Trustee Chicago Title Insurance Company, Creditor, Etc., 791 F.2d 712 (9th Cir. 1986).

Opinion

791 F.2d 712

14 Collier Bankr.Cas.2d 1244, 4 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1097,
14 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 901, Bankr. L. Rep. P 71,178

In re George I. BENNY and Alexandra Benny, Debtors. (Four Cases)
Alexandra BENNY, Debtor-Appellant,
v.
John M. ENGLAND, Trustee; Chicago Title Insurance Company,
Creditor, etc., et al., Appellees.
UNITED STATES of America, Intervenor-Appellant,
v.
John M. ENGLAND, Trustee, Chicago Title Insurance Company,
Creditor, etc., et al., Appellees.
Keith M. LUNDIN, Mark B. McFeely, William L. Norton, George
C. Paine, III, Hugh Robinson and Arthur N.
Votolato, Jr., Bankruptcy Judges,
Applicants for Intervention-Appellants,
v.
Alexandra BENNY, Debtor-Appellee.
UNITED STATES of America, Intervenor-Petitioner-Appellee,
v.
John M. ENGLAND, Trustee; Chicago Title Insurance Company,
Creditor, etc., et al., Appellees.

Nos. 84-2805, 85-1517, 85-1530 and 85-1765.

United States Court of Appeals,
Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted July 10, 1985.
Decided June 9, 1986.

Law Offices of John T. Hansen, John T. Hansen, Lewis C. Maldondo, San Francisco, Cal., for Benny.

Richard K. Willard, Asst. Atty. Gen., Joseph P. Russoniello, U.S. Atty., Paul Blankenstein, Appellate Litigation Counsel, Judith F. Ledbetter, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for U.S.

Steven R. Ross, Gen. Counsel to the Clerk, Charles Tiefer, Deputy Gen. Counsel to the Clerk, Michael L. Murray, Asst. Counsel to the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., for Speaker & Bipartisan Leadership Group of the House of Representatives.

Michael Davidson, Morgan J. Frankel, Office of Senate Legal Counsel, Washington, D.C., for U.S. Senate.

Laurence J. Kaiser, Kronish, Lieb, Shainswit, Weiner & Hellman, New York City, for Bankruptcy Judges.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Before: FERGUSON, NORRIS and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges.

WIGGINS, Circuit Judge:

These cases involve appeals from a district court's order, 44 BR 581, upholding the constitutionality of sections 106 and 121 of the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-353, 98 Stat. 333 (the 1984 Act), and from an order denying intervention to a group of bankruptcy judges.

We dismiss appeals Nos. 84-2805 and 85-1517, challenging the constitutionality of the 1984 Act, for lack of jurisdiction. We also dismiss for lack of jurisdiction appeal No. 84-1765, raising the same issue, in which permission to appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(b) (1982) had previously been granted. Finally, in appeal No. 85-1530, we affirm the district court's decision denying the bankruptcy judge's motion to intervene as of right, and we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying their motion for permissive intervention.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The involuntary bankruptcy proceeding that gives rise to these appeals was filed against the Bennys in 1982. After the bankruptcy court entered an order for relief of creditors, the Bennys moved the bankruptcy court for reconsideration. Alexandra Benny (Benny) also moved to dismiss the proceeding on the basis of the bankruptcy court's lack of jurisdiction.1 She contended that the bankruptcy judge was improperly exercising jurisdiction over the bankruptcy proceedings because he had been unconstitutionally reinstated to office. The district court granted Benny's motion for partial withdrawal of the reference to bankruptcy court with respect to the constitutionality issue.

Benny subsequently filed a motion in district court seeking: (1) a declaration that Congress violated the Constitution in passing sections 106 and 121 of the 1984 Act, which extended bankruptcy judges' terms retroactively to June 28, 1984, and prospectively for two to four years; and (2) rescission of the Northern District of California's July 20, 1984, general reference order referring all bankruptcy matters to bankruptcy judges. The crux of her argument was that either the bankruptcy judgeships or the bankruptcy judges' terms of office had terminated on June 28, 1984, on the expiration of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, Pub.L. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549 (the 1978 Act). She contended that the 1984 Act Secs. 106 and 121 constituted congressional reinstatement of the bankruptcy judges, which violated the Appointments Clause, U.S. Const. art. II, Sec. 2, cl. 2.

The Bennys' trustee in bankruptcy and a committee of the Bennys' unsecured creditors opposed the motion. Shortly thereafter, the Attorney General intervened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2403(a) (1982), and submitted a memorandum in support of Benny's position, arguing that the sections were unconstitutional.2 The United States Senate (the Senate), the Speaker and Bipartisan Leadership Group of the House of Representatives (the House), and a group of bankruptcy judges (the bankruptcy judges) sought leave to intervene. None of the bankruptcy judges sits in this circuit. The court permitted the House and Senate to intervene. It did not rule on the bankruptcy judges' motion to intervene until after it had rendered a decision on the merits, but it permitted them to file a brief and present their arguments at the hearing.

The court heard argument on the motion on November 2, 1984. On November 30, 1984, the court entered an order rejecting the constitutional challenge to the 1984 Act Secs. 106 and 121. Benny filed a timely notice of appeal (No. 84-2805) ten days later. On January 4, 1985, the United States also filed a timely notice of appeal (No. 85-1517).

Although the district court announced at the November 2 hearing that it was denying the bankruptcy judges' motion to intervene and treating the judges as amicus, it did not enter an order denying the motion to intervene until December 7. The bankruptcy judges filed a timely notice of appeal (No. 85-1530) on January 8. This court consolidated Benny's, the United States', and the bankruptcy judges' appeals on February 11.

The district court entered an order on February 12 certifying its order that upheld the constitutionality of sections 106 and 121 for immediate appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(b). The United States filed a petition for leave to appeal on February 25. On May 21, this court granted the petition and directed the parties to discuss whether 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(b) applies to this case. In the same order, the court consolidated the appeal (No. 85-1765) with the appeals described above.

DISCUSSION

I.

Nos. 84-2805 and 85-1517

Order Affirming Constitutionality of 1984 Act

At the outset, we are obligated to determine our own jurisdiction over these appeals. See Pizza of Hawaii, Inc. v. Shakey's, Inc. (In re Pizza of Hawaii, Inc., 761 F.2d 1374, 1377 (9th Cir.1985). Debtor-appellant Benny and intervenor-appellant United States both appeal the district court's order holding sections 106 and 121 of the 1984 Act constitutional.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
791 F.2d 712, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-george-i-benny-and-alexandra-benny-debtors-four-cases-alexandra-ca9-1986.