Supreme Court Decision Alert - May 4, 2015

Today, the Supreme Court issued one decision, described below, of interest to the business community.

Bankruptcy Code—Appealability of Order Denying Confirmation of Plan

Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, No. 14–116 (previously described in the December 15, 2014, Docket Report)

Under 28 U.S.C. § 158(d)(1), litigants in bankruptcy cases may appeal "final decisions, judgments, orders, and decrees" of district courts and bankruptcy appellate panels. Today, the Supreme Court decided in Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, No. 14-116, that an order denying confirmation of a bankruptcy plan is not a final order appealable under § 158(d)(1).

Petitioner Louis Bullard filed a petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2010. Two years later, the bankruptcy court rejected Bullard's initial plan because he had proposed a "hybrid" repayment scheme. A hybrid plan reduces the balance owed on a secured loan to the underlying asset's fair market value. The debtor may then pay off the reduced