Harrisburg city council loses another appeal tied to dismissal ruling

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 2 - The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday threw out for lack of jurisdiction the City of Harrisburg, Pa., city council's appeal of a Dec. 13 bankruptcy court order that struck down a previous appeal of the Chapter 9 bankruptcy case dismissal.

In a Dec. 13 opinion, judge Mary D. France said the city council was required to file its appeal of the case dismissal order by Dec. 7, but did not file its notice of appeal until Dec. 10.

The judge said the city council filed a motion to extend its time for filing an appeal on Dec. 11, four days after the deadline for an extension motion.

According to the Dec. 13 opinion, the city council's attorney Mark D. Schwartz misunderstood the time limits for filing an appeal. While the court order dismissing the case was filed on Nov. 23, the written opinion was not filed until Dec. 5.

"Counsel's misunderstanding of the time limits for filing an appeal does not establish a basis for relief," France said in the Dec. 13 opinion.

In Wednesday's district court ruling, judge Sylvia H. Rambo said the city council "has failed to timely file for an appeal and has failed to show excusable neglect for not doing so."

Rambo also said the city council has not acted in good faith.

"If city council truly believed that the written opinion was needed, counsel could have filed a timely motion for an extension of time to file an appeal," Rambo said in her ruling.

"The excuse for the delay is potentially frivolous."

Schwartz said in an e-mail sent Feb. 2 that the process for extending the time for an appeal of a bankruptcy ruling was invoked, but France never held a hearing to ascertain the underlying facts for invoking the rule that permits extended time for an appeal.

"It was wrong of her to make a factual determination without a hearing," Schwartz said. "This is the basis for the appeal, which should not have been summarily denied by judge Rambo.

"Another door should not have been slammed on Harrisburg."

As previously reported, the city's October petition for relief under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code was dismissed on Nov. 23 in response to objections filed in the case.

The objectors claimed Harrisburg did not qualify as a debtor, citing a Pennsylvania law that was recently amended to prohibit a third-class, financially distressed city from filing bankruptcy until July 1, 2012.

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