In Re Charles W. Siller

Filing 34

ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 5/9/2012 ORDERING that appellants' motion for leave to appeal is GRANTED. (Yin, K)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY
and SPILLER • McPROUD,

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Appellants,

No. CIV S-10-779 KJM

vs.

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CHARLES W. SILLER,

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Appellee,
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COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY
and SPILLER • McPROUD,
Appellants,

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No. CIV S-10-0780 KJM

vs.
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CWS ENTERPRISES, Inc., a California
Corporation,

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ORDER

Appellee,
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Appellant Spiller • McProud has sought leave to pursue an interlocutory appeal of

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the bankruptcy court’s order permitting an objection to a pre-petition claim for attorney’s fees

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which has been reduced to a state court judgment. The court heard argument on the substance of

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the appeal on April 6, 2011.

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Under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a), a district court has discretion to hear interlocutory

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appeals from the bankruptcy court. See also Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8001(b). Such appeals are proper

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when refusal to hear the appeal would result in wasted litigation and expense, the appeal

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involves a controlling question of law which is not firmly settled and the appeal would advance

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the ultimate termination of the litigation. In re Linda Vista Cinemas, L.L.C., 2011 WL 1743312,

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at *2 (D. Ariz. 2011) (citing, inter alia, In re NSB Film Corp., 167 B.R. 176, 180 (9th Cir.

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1994)). Each of these factors is present in the instant case: if the judgment has preclusive effect

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on the question of reasonable fees, there will be no need for further proceedings to address the

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question, which will, in turn, promote earlier termination of the proceedings. Moreover, as the

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bankruptcy judge noted, this issue has not been resolved before the instant decision.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that appellants’ motion for leave to appeal (ECF

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No. 6) is granted. An order resolving the merits of the appeal is being issued concurrently.

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DATED: May 9, 2012.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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