Court Error – Bankruptcy – Sanctions

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Richard A. Hazelton, et al. v. The Board of Regents for the University of Wisconsin System, et al.

Case No.: 19-1405

Officials: RIPPLE, ROVNER, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Court Error – Bankruptcy – Sanctions

Richard and Kelly Hazelton asked a bankruptcy court to sanction the University of Wisconsin Stout for collecting an educational debt after their debts were discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy judge held that the debt was a non-dischargeable student loan, so UW-Stout did not violate the discharge injunction. The district court reversed, concluding that the debt was not a student loan and thus was not excluded from the bankruptcy discharge. The district judge remanded to the bankruptcy court for further proceedings on the question of sanctions.

UW-Stout asks us to review the district court’s order. We cannot do so. Our jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases under 28 U.S.C. § 158(d)(1) is limited to appeals from final district court orders that resolve “discrete disputes” within the bankruptcy case. Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, 135 S. Ct. 1686, 1692 (2015). The dispute at issue here is whether UW-Stout should be sanctioned for violating the discharge injunction. The district court did not resolve that dispute. Rather, the judge decided a subsidiary legal issue and remanded to the bankruptcy court for resolution of the sanctions dispute. Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction and must dismiss the appeal.

Dismissed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.