Adeli v. Barclay

Plaintiff appealed the bankruptcy court's approval of a settlement agreement regarding a parcel of land in Berkeley, California, but failed to seek a stay of the sale order. The district court dismissed the appeal as moot. The court concluded that the bankruptcy court had the discretion to apply 11 U.S.C. 363 to the settlement involving a sale of the estate’s potential claims, and did not clearly err in determining that First-Citizens was a good faith purchaser of those claims. Therefore, under section 363(m), the court concluded that the sale may not be modified or set aside on appeal unless it was stayed pending appeal. Because plaintiff failed to seek a stay, the appeal is moot. The court did not reach plaintiff's challenges to the propriety of the sale of claims under section 363, as such an analysis would require the court to impermissibly reach the underlying merits of the settlement. View "Adeli v. Barclay" on Justia Law