In Re: Major Model Management Inc.
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:23-cv-07657
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Agra v. Major Model Management, Judge Caproni granted leave to appeal a bankruptcy order, citing the bankruptcy court’s lack of jurisdiction over remaining claims.
Pedro Agra, Major Model Management Inc., and the non-debtor defendants involved in Agra’s remaining claims.
What happened
Pedro Agra asked to appeal a bankruptcy court order concerning Major Model Management Inc. The bankruptcy court had dismissed all claims against Major with prejudice but had not ruled on claims against non-debtor defendants.
The district court applied the standard for allowing an immediate appeal of a nonfinal order. It concluded that, because the bankruptcy plan had been confirmed and the remaining claims had no close connection to that plan or proceeding, the bankruptcy court lacked authority over those claims.
Judge Valerie Caproni granted Agra’s motion for leave to appeal. She said allowing the appeal would avoid wasting judicial resources and ordered the parties to propose a briefing schedule by December 22, 2023.
The detailed version
- In Re: Major Model Management Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-07657
- Valerie Caproni
- Dec. 11, 2023
Background
The bankruptcy court dismissed all claims with prejudice against debtor-appellee Major Model Management Inc. in an August 18, 2023 order. That court did not issue an order or judgment concerning the non-debtor defendants and stated that the order did not affect Agra’s ability to pursue claims against them.
Agra later moved for permission to appeal the bankruptcy court’s order. Under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(3), a district court has discretion to allow an appeal from a nonfinal bankruptcy-court order. Courts apply the standard in 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), which asks whether the order presents an important legal question, whether there is substantial disagreement about that question, and whether an immediate appeal would materially advance the end of the litigation.
Court’s Reasoning
The district court noted that the bankruptcy plan had been confirmed in June 2023. It concluded that Agra’s remaining claims against the non-debtor defendants did not have a close connection to the bankruptcy plan or proceeding. The court therefore stated that the bankruptcy court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over those remaining claims.
The court also determined that sending the matter back to the bankruptcy court to dismiss the remaining claims for lack of jurisdiction, or withdrawing the bankruptcy court’s authority over those claims, would waste judicial resources. It chose to allow the appeal to promote efficiency.
Disposition
The court granted Agra’s motion for leave to appeal the bankruptcy court’s August 18, 2023 order. It directed the parties to confer and submit a proposed briefing schedule by December 22, 2023, and directed the clerk to close the motion. The order granted permission to pursue the appeal; it did not resolve the underlying claims against the non-debtor defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.