In Re: Clean Air Car Service & Parking Branch Two, LLC, 24-1742-bk(L)

Clean Air Car Service & Parking Branch Three, LLC (Appellant) appealed three District Court orders affirming Bankruptcy Court orders related to the sale of assets (a parking garage and an office building) and the eviction of Appellant from the garage.
The assets of Clean Air Car Service & Parking Branch Two, LLC and Operr Plaza, LLC (Debtor-Appellees) were sold at public auction to unaffiliated, alleged good-faith purchasers after authorized UCC sales.
District Court found the asset sale appeals statutorily moot under 11 U.S.C. § 363(m) because assets were sold to good-faith purchasers, and the eviction appeal moot as the appellant was already evicted.
Appellant’s motion to dismiss argued a lack of bankruptcy court jurisdiction, claiming the operating agreements prohibited the bankruptcy filings.
Appellees requested dismissal on alternative grounds of both statutory and equitable mootness.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Subject Matter Jurisdiction	Bankruptcy filings unauthorized under LLC agreements	Proper authority and jurisdiction existed	Bankruptcy Court had subject matter jurisdiction
Statutory Mootness of Sale Appeals (§363)	Buyers not good-faith purchasers; notice of claims	Properties sold to good-faith purchasers at auction	Appeals are statutorily moot under §363(m)
Mootness of Eviction Appeal	Dismissal was improper as issues still "live"	Appellant already evicted, no effective relief possible	Appeal is moot; no effective relief can be granted
Equitable Mootness	Effective relief possible, plan not fully consummated	Plans approved; assets distributed	Appeals independently moot under equitable mootness

In re Kalikow, 602 F.3d 82 (2d Cir. 2010) (clarifies plenary review and independent assessment of bankruptcy court decisions)
Bellin v. Zucker, 6 F.4th 463 (2d Cir. 2021) (details standard for mootness review in appellate proceedings)
In re Gucci, 126 F.3d 380 (2d Cir. 1997) (defines "good-faith purchaser" and statutory mootness under §363(m))
In re Colony Hill Assocs., 111 F.3d 269 (2d Cir. 1997) (sufficiency of competitive auction to establish value for §363(m))
White River Amusement Pub, Inc. v. Town of Hartford, 481 F.3d 163 (2d Cir. 2007) (articulates standard for mootness in federal courts)
In re BGI, Inc., 772 F.3d 102 (2d Cir. 2014) (equitable mootness presumption in substantially consummated bankruptcy plans)
In re MPM Silicones, L.L.C., 874 F.3d 787 (2d Cir. 2017) (standards for overcoming equitable mootness in bankruptcy appeals)