subject matter jurisdiction

Fifth Circuit Opinion Upholds Limits on Actions Between Non-Debtors

02/11/22

 In a case involving multiple parties and proceedings, the Fifth Circuit has affirmed lower court rulings which prohibited one non-debtor from suing a second non-debtor and awarded sanctions against a party that told a state court to disregard the Bankruptcy Court's orders. In the Matter of PFO Global, Incorporated, Case No. 20-10885 (5th Cir. 2/9/22), which can be found here.

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District Court Finds Plan Provision So Broad It Exceeded Jurisdiction

02/02/22

While bankruptcy subject matter jurisdiction is broad, sometimes an order can just go too far as shown by the recent opinion from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Patterson v. Mahway Bergen  Retail Group, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7431 (E.D. Va. 2022).

The Three Types of Jurisdiction

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Fifth Circuit Renders Important Subject Matter Jurisdiction Opinion Concerning Restraint of Inter-Galactic Trade

12/12/19
Just in time for the holidays, the Fifth Circuit has released THE MOST BIZARRE OPINION OF THE YEAR. A lawyer claiming to be a Deity and a Monarch brought suit against the United States and the State of Louisiana on behalf of the Atakapa Indian de Creole Nation. The District Court sensibly dismissed the suit based on sovereign immunity. However, the Fifth Circuit chose to affirm the decision on the ground that the suit was so completely frivolous that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction to even entertain it. Atakapa Indian de Creole Nation, No.
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