Citation, Effective Date, and Application

(a) Application of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Unless otherwise altered or suspended by these Rules or by court order, Part VIII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and all relevant Official Forms apply to proceedings in this Court. (b) Citation. These Rules must be cited as follows: 10th Cir. BAP L.R. ___. (c) Effective Date. These Rules are effective _______and apply to all proceedings that have not been completed before that date. (d) Suspension. The Court may suspend any part of these Rules in a case on its own or on a party’s motion. (e) Application of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. In cases in which Part VIII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and these Rules are silent about a particular manner of practice, the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure or the Tenth Circuit Rules shall apply. (f) Application of the 10th Cir. BAP Local Rules. When, either by local rule or general order, a district court orders the application of these Rules to bankruptcy appeals proceeding before it, any reference to the “BAP clerk” shall mean the clerk of the district court and any reference to “this Court” shall mean the district court. 4 Rule 8002. Time to File a Notice of Appeal (a) In General. (1) Time to File. Except as (b) and (c) provide otherwise, a notice of appeal must be filed with the bankruptcy clerk within 14 days after the judgment, order, or decree to be appealed is entered. (2) Filing Before the Entry of Judgment. A notice of appeal filed after the bankruptcy court announces a decision or order—but before entry of the judgment, order, or decree—is treated as filed on the date of and after the entry. (3) Multiple Appeals. If one party timely files a notice of appeal, any other party may file a notice of appeal within 14 days after the date when the first notice was filed, or within the time otherwise allowed by this rule— whichever is later. (4) Mistaken Filing in Another Court. If a notice of appeal is mistakenly filed in a district court, BAP, or court of appeals, the court’s clerk must note on it the date on when it was received and send it to the bankruptcy clerk. The notice is then considered filed in the bankruptcy court on the date noted. (5) Entry Defined. (A) In General. A judgment, order, or decree is entered for purposes of this subdivision (a): (i) when it is entered in the docket under Rule 5003(a); or (ii) if Rule 7058 applies and Fed. R. Civ. P. 58(a) requires a separate document, when the judgment, order, or decree is entered in the docket under Rule 5003(a) and when the earlier of these events occurs: the judgment, order, or decree is set out in a separate • document; or 5 • 150 days have run from entry of the judgment, order, or decree in the docket under Rule 5003(a). (B) Failure to Use a Separate Document. A failure to set out a judgment, order, or decree in a separate document when required by Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 58(a) does not affect the validity of an appeal from that judgment, order, or decree. (b) Effect of a Motion on the Time to Appeal. (1) In General. If a party files in the bankruptcy court any of the following motions—and does so within the time allowed by these rules—the time to file an appeal runs for all parties from the entry of the order disposing of the last such remaining motion: (A) to amend or make additional findings under Rule 7052, whether or not granting the motion would alter the judgment; (B) to alter or amend the judgment under Rule 9023; (C) for a new trial under Rule 9023; or (D) for relief under Rule 9024 if the motion is filed within 14 days after the judgment is entered. (2) Notice of Appeal Filed Before a Motion is Decided. If a party files a notice of appeal after the court announces or enters a judgment, order, or decree—but before it disposes of any motion listed in (1)—the notice becomes effective when the order disposing of the last such remaining motion is entered. (3) Appealing a Ruling on a Motion. A party intending to challenge an order disposing of a motion listed in (1)—or an alteration or amendment of a judgment, order, or decree made by a decision on the motion—must file a notice of appeal or an amended notice of appeal. It must: (A) comply with Rule 8003 or 8004; and 6 (B) be filed within the time allowed by this rule, measured from the entry of the order disposing of the last such remaining motion. (4) No Additional Fee for an Amended Notice. No additional fee is required to file an amended notice of appeal. (c) Appeal by an Inmate Confined in an Institution. (1) In General. If an institution has a system designed for legal mail, an inmate confined there must use that system to receive the benefit of this paragraph (1). If an inmate files a notice of appeal from a bankruptcy court’s judgment, order, or decree, the notice is timely if it is deposited in the institution’s internal mail system on or before the last day for filing and: (A) it is accompanied by: (i) a declaration in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746—or a notarized statement—setting out the date of deposit and stating that first-class postage is being prepaid; or (ii) evidence (such as a postmark or date stamp) showing that the notice was so deposited and that postage was prepaid; or (B) the appellate court exercises its discretion to permit the later filing of a declaration or notarized statement that satisfies (A)(i). (2) Multiple Appeals. If an inmate files under this subdivision (c) the first notice of appeal, the 14-day period provided in (a)(3) for another party to file a notice of appeal runs from the date when the bankruptcy clerk dockets the first notice. (d) Extending the Time to File a Notice of Appeal. (1) When the Time May Be Extended. Except as (2) provides otherwise, the bankruptcy court may, on motion, extend the time to file a notice of appeal if the motion is filed: 7 (A) within the time allowed by this rule; or (B) within 21 days after that time expires if the party shows excusable neglect. (2) When the Time Must Not Be Extended. The bankruptcy court may not extend the time to file the notice if the judgment, order, or decree being appealed: (A) grants relief from an automatic stay under § 362, 922, 1201, or 1301; (B) authorizes the sale or lease of property or the use of cash collateral under § 363; (C) authorizes obtaining credit under § 364; (D) authorizes assuming or assigning an executory contract or unexpired lease under § 365; (E) approves a disclosure statement under § 1125; or (F) confirms a plan under § 943, 1129, 1225, or 1325. (2) Limit on Extending Time. An extension of time must not exceed 21 days after the time allowed by this rule, or 14 days after the order granting the motion to extend time is entered—whichever is later. No local rule. 8 Rule 8003. Appeal as of Right—How Taken; Docketing the Appeal (a) Filing a Notice of Appeal. (1) Time to File. An appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1) or (2) from a bankruptcy court’s judgment, order, or decree to a district court or a BAP may be taken only by filing a notice of appeal with the bankruptcy clerk within the time allowed by Rule 8002. (2) Failure to Take Any Other Step. An appellant’s failure to take any step other than timely filing a notice of appeal does not affect the appeal’s validity, but is ground only for the district court or BAP to act as it considers appropriate, including dismissing the appeal. (3) Content of the Notice of Appeal. A notice of appeal must: (A) conform substantially to Form 417A; (B) be accompanied by the judgment— or the appealable order or decree—from which the appeal is taken; and (C) be accompanied by the prescribed filing fee. (4) Merger. The notice of appeal encompasses all orders that, for purposes of appeal, merge into the identified judgment or appealable order or decree. It is not necessary to identify those orders in the notice of appeal. (5) Final Judgment. The notice of appeal encompasses the final judgment, whether or not that judgment is set out in a separate document under Rule 7058, if the notice identifies: (A) an order that adjudicates all remaining claims and the rights and liabilities of all remaining parties; or (B) an order described in Rule 8002(b)(1). 9 (6) Limited Appeal. An appellant may identify only part of a judgment or appealable order or decree by expressly stating that the notice of appeal is so limited. Without such an express statement, specific identifications do not limit the scope of the notice of appeal. (7) Impermissible Ground for Dismissal. An appeal must not be dismissed for failure to properly identify the judgment or appealable order or decree if the notice of appeal was filed after entry of the judgment or appealable order or decree and identifies an order that merged into that judgment or appealable order or decree. (8) Clerk’s Request for Additional Copies of the Notice of Appeal. On the bankruptcy clerk’s request, the appellant must provide enough copies of the notice of appeal to enable to clerk to comply with (c). (b) Joint or Consolidated Appeals. (1) Joint Notice of Appeal. When two or more parties are entitled to appeal from a bankruptcy court’s judgment, order, or decree and their interests make joinder practicable, they may file a joint notice of appeal. They may then proceed on appeal as a single appellant. (2) Consolidating Appeals. When parties have separately filed timely notices of appeal, the district court or BAP may join or consolidate the appeals. (c) Serving the Notice of Appeal. (1) Serving Parties; Sending to the United States Trustee. The bankruptcy clerk must serve the notice of appeal by sending a copy to the counsel of record for each party to the appeal—excluding the appellant’s counsel—and send it to the United States trustee. If a party is proceeding pro se, the clerk must send the notice to the party’s last known address. The clerk must note, on each copy, the date when the notice of appeal was filed. (2) Failure to Serve the Notice of Appeal. The bankruptcy clerk’s failure to serve notice on a party or send notice to the United States trustee does not 10 affect the appeal’s validity. (3) Entry of Service on the Docket. The clerk must note on the docket the names of the parties served and the date and method of service. (d) Sending the Notice of Appeal to the District Court or BAP; Docketing the Appeal. (1) Where to Send the Notice of Appeal. If a BAP has been established to hear appeals from that district—and an appellant has not elected to have the appeal heard in the district court—the bankruptcy clerk must promptly send the notice of appeal to the BAP clerk. Otherwise, the bankruptcy clerk must promptly send it to the district clerk. (2) Docketing the Appeal. Upon receiving the notice of appeal, the district or BAP clerk must: (A) docket the appeal under the title of the bankruptcy case and the title of any adversary proceeding; and (B) identify the appellant, adding the appellant’s name if necessary. 11