Celotex Corp. v. Edwards, 514 U.S. 300, 18 (1995)

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Cite as: 514 U. S. 300 (1995)

Stevens, J., dissenting

straints require that the judgment of the Court of Appeals be affirmed.

The majority concludes that the Court of Appeals must be reversed because the Bankruptcy Judge had jurisdiction to issue the injunction and because the injunction had more than a " 'frivolous pretense to validity.' " Ante, at 312. Even applying the majority's framework, I would affirm the Court of Appeals. As I will demonstrate, the constraints on the jurisdiction and authority of the Bankruptcy Judge compel the conclusion that the Bankruptcy Judge lacked jurisdiction to issue the challenged injunction, and that the injunction has only a " 'frivolous pretense to validity.' " I will also explain, however, why the majority's deferential approach seems particularly inappropriate as applied to this particular injunction, now in its fifth year of preventing enforcement of supersedeas bonds lodged in an Article III court.

II

In my view, the Bankruptcy Judge lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction that prevents an Article III court from allowing a judgment creditor to collect on a supersedeas bond posted in that court by a nondebtor. In reaching the contrary conclusion, the majority relies primarily on the Bankruptcy Judge's "related to" jurisdiction, and thus I will address that basis of jurisdiction first. The majority properly observes that, under 28 U. S. C. § 1334(b), the district court has broad bankruptcy jurisdiction, extending to "all civil proceedings arising under title 11, or arising in or related to cases under title 11." 3 The majority also notes cor-3 The full text of § 1334 reads as follows: "(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the district courts shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of all cases under title 11.

"(b) Notwithstanding any Act of Congress that confers exclusive jurisdiction on a court or courts other than the district courts, the dis-

317

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