Supreme Court of the United States
Moac Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC
April 19, 2023598 U.S. 288
Summary
Justice Jackson delivered the unanimous opinion holding that 11 U. S. C. § 363(m), which protects certain bankruptcy sales and leases from the effects of appellate reversal or modification, is not jurisdictional. Its text restricts the effects of appellate relief rather than courts' adjudicatory authority, and neither its statutory context nor its historical background supplies the required clear statement of jurisdictional intent. The Court also rejected Transform's mootness argument because its disputed assertions about the legal availability of ultimate relief concerned the merits rather than the existence of a live controversy. The Court vacated the Second Circuit's judgment and remanded, leaving other questions about § 363(m)'s meaning and scope unresolved. There were no separate opinions.
Holding
- Whether the completed lease assignment rendered the case moot.. The case was not moot merely because Transform disputed the legal availability of relief undoing the lease assignment.
- Whether § 363(m) is jurisdictional.. Section 363(m) is not jurisdictional.
Docket 21-1270
Cited authorities
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334
- CA11
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334
- 11 U.S.C. § 363
- 11 U.S.C. § 363
- 11 U.S.C. § 549
- 11 U.S.C. § 305
- 11 U.S.C. § 305