COMM 2013 CCRE12 Crossings Mall Road, LLC v. Tara Retail Group, LLC, 1:17-cv-00067

Tara Retail Group, LLC filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition after flooding cut off access to its shopping center and halted rent revenue.
COMM 2013 Crossings Mall Road, LLC is Tara’s principal secured creditor (lien and assigned rents) and moved to dismiss under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b), arguing Tara lacked proper corporate authority to file.
The Bankruptcy Court denied COMM 2013's § 1112(b) motion, finding Tara’s independent director ratified the petition by silence.
COMM 2013 filed a notice of appeal challenging the denial. Tara moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, arguing the order is interlocutory and not appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1).
The District Court treated whether the denial of a § 1112(b) dismissal is a final, appealable order as the central legal question and considered Fourth Circuit precedent distinguishing § 707(b) appeals.

Issue	COMM 2013's Argument	Tara's Argument	Held
Whether the Bankruptcy Court’s denial of a § 1112(b) motion to dismiss is a final, appealable order under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1)	Denial of dismissal is final and appealable; relied on McDow’s broader language that denials of dismissal are final	The denial is interlocutory; McDow is limited to § 707(b) (Chapter 7) and does not control § 1112(b) (Chapter 11) denials	Denial of § 1112(b) motion is interlocutory and not appealable as of right; appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction

McDow v. Dudley, 662 F.3d 284 (4th Cir. 2011) (held denial of § 707(b) dismissal is final because § 707(b) is a statutory gateway)
Hager v. Gibson, 108 F.3d 35 (4th Cir. 1997) (bankruptcy court lacks jurisdiction when a corporation files without proper authority)
Sumy v. Schlossberg, 777 F.2d 921 (4th Cir. 1985) (bankruptcy finality must be interpreted in light of bankruptcy’s special circumstances)
Catlin v. United States, 324 U.S. 229 (1945) (general final-judgment rule: ends litigation on the merits)
In re Computer Learning Ctrs., Inc., 407 F.3d 656 (4th Cir. 2005) (bankruptcy finality applied pragmatically)
In re Urban Broad. Corp., 401 F.3d 236 (4th Cir. 2005) (orders are final only if they conclusively determine a separable dispute)
Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, 135 S. Ct. 1686 (2015) (plan confirmation is final because it fixes parties’ rights and obligations)
In re Jartran, Inc., 886 F.2d 859 (7th Cir. 1989) (denial of Chapter 11 dismissal is interlocutory)
In re N. Bedford Dr. Corp., 778 F.2d 1374 (9th Cir. 1985) (similar conclusion on non-finality of dismissal denials)