Bound by the BAP: The Stare Decisis Effects of BAP Decisions

Bankruptcy Appellate Panels (BAPs) are used as an intermediate review of bankruptcy final orders, judgments and decrees, between the district court and circuit court of appeals. The precedential value of BAP decisions, however, has long been in dispute. This article examines the history of BAPs and analyzes the doctrine of stare decisis in relation to these courts. The author argues that BAP decisions should bind both bankruptcy and district courts within a circuit.

A secondary theme argues again disbanding BAPs, a proposal put forward by the National Bankruptcy Review Commission.