Michael Lynn Robertson v. Banner Bank

An appeal for a judgment of a bankruptcy court “shall be taken in the same manner as appeals in civil proceedings generally are taken to the courts of appeals from the district courts and in the time provided by Rule 8002 of the Bankruptcy Rules.” 28 U.S.C. § 158(c)(2). The Tenth Circuit holds that the time to file a notice of appeal from a bankruptcy court under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8002 is i ~a jurisdictional requirement. Here, the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Tenth Circuit -’■n (dismissed the appeal of pro se litigant Michael Lynn Robertson sua sponte for lack of jurisdiction. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel reasoned that a post­ judgment motion Mr. Robertson filed under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9023 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) was untimely and therefore did not toll the time limit for filing his notice of appeal from the bankruptcy court’s underlying judgment under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8002. The Tenth Circuit affirmed, finding that this panel is “bound by the precedent of prior panels absent en banc reconsideration or a superseding contrary decision by the Supreme Court.” App. 11. 1. Whether the time prescription for filing an appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 158(c)(2) found only in Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8002 contains the type of statutory time constraints that would limit a court's jurisdiction or whether Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8002 is instead a non-jurisdictional claim-