Krasny v. Bagga

357 B.R. 324, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 3500, 47 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 160
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 20, 2006
DocketBankruptcy Nos. 04-37130; 04-37132; 04-37136; Adversary Nos. 06-128; 06-129; 06-130
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 357 B.R. 324 (Krasny v. Bagga) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Krasny v. Bagga, 357 B.R. 324, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 3500, 47 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 160 (Pa. 2006).

Opinion

Opinion

STEPHEN RASLAVICH, Bankruptcy Judge.

Introduction.

The Plaintiffs filed in this Court a fifteen count complaint against the debtor corporations, related entities, and their principals. The Defendants have filed a motion to withdraw the reference of this adversary proceeding from the Bankruptcy to District Court. The District Court has remanded the motion to the Bankruptcy Court with a limited instruction: this Court must determine to what extent the Complaint raises core versus non-core matters.1 Upon receipt of the remand order, the parties contacted this Court to request the opportunity to brief the issues. That request was allowed, the parties submitted briefs, and the matter was taken under advisement.2 Background

These claims had been originally brought by the creditor FL Receivables (FL) in the District Court. There, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss two of the counts for failure to state a claim. That motion would be granted and as discovery was about to proceed on the remaining claims, three of the corporate defendants — United Management, Jamuna Real Estate, and Bagga Enterprises — filed [328]*328for bankruptcy under Chapter 7. The two Trustees assigned to handle the cases (Messrs. Krasny and Seitz)3 joined with FL to file the same claims in this Court.4 The Defendants filed a motion in the District Court requesting that the reference be withdrawn. That prompted the District Court to remand the case to this Court to determine which of the counts are core and which are non-core.

Core, Nonr-Core Proceedings and Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction

The District Court’s reference to core versus non-core matters necessarily implicates the jurisdictional parameters of the Bankruptcy Court.5 A term of art, “core” in this context derives from the Supreme Court’s ruling in Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50, 102 S.Ct. 2858, 73 L.Ed.2d 598 (1982). There, the High Court held unconstitutional the jurisdictional grants of the Bankruptcy Act of 1978. Specifically, it struck down the provision which authorized Article I bankruptcy courts to hear certain matters that eonstitutionally could only be heard by courts whose judges are protected by the safeguards in Article III. Id. at 84,102 S.Ct. at 2878 (“bankruptcy courts do not constitutionally have jurisdiction over claims for breach of contract and misrepresentation, [because they] involve a right created by state law, a right independent and antecedent to the reorganization petition that conferred jurisdiction upon the Bankruptcy Court”) (emphasis in original). That ruling prompted Congress to pass the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984. Under the 1984 Amendments, the

[bankruptcy judges may hear and determine all cases under title 11 and all core proceedings arising under title 11, or arising in a case under title 11, referred under subsection (a) of this section, and may enter appropriate orders and judgments, subject to review under section 158 of this title

28 U.S.C. § 157(b) (emphasis added).6 A proceeding is classified as “core” under 28 [329]*329U.S.C. § 157 “if it invokes a substantive right provided by title 11 or if it is a proceeding that, by its nature, could arise only in the context of a bankruptcy case.” In re Marcus Hook Development Park., Inc., 943 F.2d 261, 267 (3d Cir.1991) (quoting Beard v. Braunstein, 914 F.2d 434, 444 (3d Cir.1990)). Core proceedings represent those disputes so intertwined with the bankruptcy process that Congress has the power under Article I of the Constitution to direct a non-tenured judicial officer (i.e., bankruptcy judge) to render a final determination of their merits. See 1 Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 2d, § 4.75 (1999) (“The word ‘core’ was a shorthand word employed to signify issues and actions that traditionally formed part of the functions performed under federal bankruptcy law”).

Where a matter does not qualify as “core” but has some meaningful nexus with the bankruptcy case, it may nevertheless be heard by the Bankruptcy Court on a preliminary basis:

A bankruptcy judge may hear a proceeding that is not a core proceeding but that is otherwise related to a case under title 11. In such proceeding, the bankruptcy judge shall submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to the district court, and any final order or judgment shall be entered by the district judge after considering the bankruptcy judge’s proposed findings and conclusions and after reviewing de novo those matters to which any party has timely and specifically objected.

28 U.S.C. § 157(c)(1) (emphasis added).7 The Third Circuit has defined a “non-core” yet “otherwise related” proceeding as one whose:

“outcome ... could conceivably have any effect on the estate being administered in bankruptcy.” Pacor v. Higgins, 743 F.2d 984, 994 (3d Cir.1984) (emphasis omitted); see In re Guild, 72 F.3d at 1180-81. “[T]he proceeding need not necessarily be against the debtor or against the debtor’s property.” In re Guild, 72 F.3d at 1180-81. “‘A key word in [this test] is conceivable. Certainty, or even likelihood, is not a requirement. Bankruptcy jurisdiction will exist so long as it is possible that a proceeding may impact on the debtor’s rights, liabilities, options, or freedom of action or the handling and administration of the bankrupt estate.’ ” Id. at 1181 (quoting In re Marcus Hook, 943 F.2d at 264) (emphasis omitted).

Halper v. Halper, 164 F.3d 830, 837 (3d Cir.1999)(footnote omitted). A leading commentator opines:

In light of the Marathon case, the legislative history surrounding the 1984 jurisdictional provisions and the posH984 case law, it seems clear that civil pro[330]*330ceedings encompassed by section 1334(b)’s “related proceedings” are those whose outcome could conceivably have an effect on the bankruptcy estate and that (1) involve causes of action owned by the debtor that became property of a title 11 estate under section 541 (as distinguished from postpetition causes of action, i.e., those that come into existence during the pendency of the bankruptcy case), or (2) are suits between third parties that “in the absence of bankruptcy, could have been brought in a district court or a state court.”

1 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 3.01[4][c][ii] (Matthew Bender 15th Ed. revised).

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Related

In Re Jamuna Real Estate, LLC
357 B.R. 324 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
357 B.R. 324, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 3500, 47 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krasny-v-bagga-paeb-2006.