Mohns, Inc v. Wilson et al

Filing 9

ORDER signed by Judge Lynn Adelman on 6/1/12 setting status conference for 6/20/12 at 2:00 PM CDT in Room 390, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Mohns shall show cause why appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. (cc: all counsel)(dm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

MOHNS, INC.,
Appellant,
v.

D. Ct. Case No. 11-C-1133
Bankr. Case No. 11-21802

JOHN M. WILSON a/k/a
J. MICHAEL WILSON and
CHRISTINE A. WILSON f/k/a
CHRISTINE A. PETERSON
and
BRUCE A. LANSER, Bankruptcy Trustee,
Appellees.

ORDER
Mohns, Inc. (“Mohns”) appeals from two orders that the bankruptcy court entered
during John Wilson and Christine Wilson’s ongoing Chapter 7 proceeding. In one order,
which is entitled “Order Regarding Homestead Exclusion,” the bankruptcy court ruled that
Mohns’s claim against the estate is not one for the “purchase price” of the Wilsons’ home
within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 815.18(12). See Order of Oct. 14, 2011, ECF No. 1-2
at 111. In the other order, entitled “Order Approving Trustee’s Motion to Compromise
Claim by the Estate and for Abandonment,” the bankruptcy court approved the Chapter 7
trustee’s decision to settle certain claims against the debtors involving their personal
property and to abandon the estate’s interest in other items of personal property. (Order
of Oct. 13, 2011, ECF No. 1-2 at 112–13.)
In its jurisdictional statement, Mohns asserts that I have appellate jurisdiction under
28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1), which states that district courts shall have jurisdiction to hear

appeals “from final judgments, orders, and decrees.” However, Mohns does not explain
why the orders of the bankruptcy court qualify as final orders. Moreover, neither the
debtors nor the Chapter 7 trustee elaborate on Mohns’s jurisdictional statement. After
conducting some limited research on my own, I am not convinced that the orders before
me constitute final orders within the meaning of § 158(a)(1). For this reason, Mohns will
be ordered to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that a status conference will be held on June 20,
2012 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 390, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at which
time Mohns shall show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of
jurisdiction.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 1st day of June 2012.

s/ Lynn Adelman
LYNN ADELMAN
District Judge

2