Law Offices of Michael R. Nevarez, A Professional Corporation v. Joe Jesse Monge; Rosana Elena Monge

Summary

The Fifth Circuit considered an appeal from a district court order dismissing an appeal involving bankruptcy-court orders concerning arbitration and the automatic bankruptcy stay. The court granted the appellees’ motion to dismiss because the district court had not yet considered the merits of the issues after consolidating related bankruptcy appeals, and it denied the appellant’s motions for sanctions and to supplement the record.

Holdings

1. Dismissal of the appeal was appropriate because the district court had not yet had an opportunity to consider the merits of the issues in the consolidated proceedings, and none of the narrow statutory exceptions to the ordinary district-court appellate review scheme applied.
2. A bankruptcy court's decision denying a motion to stay pending arbitration is appealable under section 16 of the Federal Arbitration Act.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Fifth Circuit should dismiss an appeal from the district court's dismissal of an action containing interlocutory bankruptcy orders when the district court consolidated that action with a separate action containing the bankruptcy court's final judgment but had not yet considered the merits of the interlocutory orders.
2. Whether the bankruptcy court's denial of a motion to stay pending arbitration was appealable under section 16 of the Federal Arbitration Act.

Disposition

dismissed