SS Farms, LLC v. Sharp (In Re SK Foods, L.P.)

A trustee in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings took possession of Appellants’ documents, which Appellants had deposited at the debtor’s office. Appellants claim the trustee acted illegally; that the documents should be returned; and that the trustee and his counsel should be removed. The bankruptcy court denied such relief, and the district court affirmed. This appeal raises the issue whether such orders of the bankruptcy court, affirmed by the district court, are final appealable orders under 28 U.S.C. § 158 (d)(1). As explained below, we hold that they are not; accordingly, we dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

I. Facts and Procedural History

Debtor SK Foods permitted Appellants to store financial, business, estate planning, and other documents on its premises. Some of these documents were physically stored on site; others were stored in a combined computer system run by SK Foods personnel.

In April 2008, the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division and other government agencies raided the premises of SK Foods, seized “an enormous volume of records and copied many other documents and computers.” The raid was followed by a federal grand jury investigation…