Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC

The Supreme Court said a bankruptcy court order denying relief from the automatic stay is a final order that must be appealed right away. The dispute began after a creditor wanted to keep pursuing its breach-of-contract lawsuit against a company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Court decided the case on Jan. 14, 2020, but the prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

The decision tells creditors and debtors when the appeal clock starts in a bankruptcy fight. For example, a creditor denied permission to continue a lawsuit cannot wait until the whole bankruptcy case ends before appealing.

The Supreme Court has finished this docket action. In future bankruptcy cases, parties should treat a stay-relief denial as an immediately appealable order and follow the deadline for appeal.

The case asked whether a bankruptcy court's denial of relief from the automatic stay counts as a final order. The Supreme Court said yes, so it must be appealed right away.

It affects when creditors and debtors must file an appeal. Missing that deadline can forfeit review of the stay ruling.

There is no further Supreme Court step in this docket. Lower courts and future litigants must apply this rule when timing appeals in bankruptcy cases.