Federal and Local Bankruptcy Rules

FRBP Rule 8005: Election to Have an Appeal Heard by the District Court Instead of the BAP

FILING OF A STATEMENT OF ELECTION. To elect to have an appeal heard by the district court, a party must:
1. file a statement of election that conforms substantially to the appropriate Official Form; and
2. do so within the time prescribed by 28 U.S.C. § 158(c)(1).
TRANSFERRING THE DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE APPEAL. Upon receiving an appellant’s timely statement of election, the bankruptcy clerk must transmit to the district clerk all documents related to the appeal. Upon receiving timely statement of election by a party other than the appellant, the BAP clerk must transmit to the district clerk all documents related to the appeal and notify the bankruptcy clerk of the transmission.
DETERMINING THE VALIDITY OF AN ELECTION. A party seeking a determination of the validity of an election must file a motion in the court where the appeal is then pending. The motion must be filed within 14 days after the statement of election is filed.
MOTION FOR LEAVE WITHOUT A NOTICE OF APPEAL—EFFECT ON THE TIMING OF AN ELECTION. If an appellant moves for leave to appeal under Rule 8004 but fails to file a separate notice of appeal with the motion, the motion must be treated as a notice of appeal for purposes of determining the timeliness of a statement of election.

APPELLANT’S STATEMENT OF ELECTION. In order to substantially conform to the appropriate Official Form pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8005(a), an appellant’s statement of election to have an appeal heard by the district court must be included in the notice of appeal that is filed with the bankruptcy court.
APPELLEE’S STATEMENT OF ELECTION. Any other party electing to have the appeal heard in the district court under 28 U.S.C. § 158(c)(1)(B) must file its statement of election with the BAP.
CLERK TRANSMISSION OF ELECTION. If any statement of election to have the appeal heard in the district court is filed in the bankruptcy court, the bankruptcy court clerk must promptly notify the BAP clerk of the filing of such statement of election.