Hager v. Gibson
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
108 F.3d 35 (1997)
- Written by Steven Pacht, JD
Facts
Both Donald Roop and Harry Hager (plaintiff) were 50 percent owners of a Virginia corporation. Roop filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on the corporation’s behalf. More than a year later, Hager moved to dismiss the bankruptcy action on the ground that Roop did not have authority under Virginia law to file the petition. Ruth Gibson (defendant), the bankruptcy trustee, opposed Hager’s motion. The district court denied Hager’s motion, ruling that although Roop did not have the authority to file the petition for the corporation, Hager ratified Roop’s filing by waiting so long to object to it. Hager appealed. Per Hager, (1) he did not ratify the bankruptcy filing and (2) ratification cannot be used to retroactively vest a bankruptcy court with jurisdiction because subject-matter jurisdiction may not be created by consent.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Phillips, J.)
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