Richard N. Berkshire filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Nebraska. After a hearing, the bankruptcy court converted his case to Chapter 7 on February 6, 2026. On the same day, Acting U.S. Trustee Jerry Jensen filed a text entry on the bankruptcy docket appointing Lauren R. Goodman as the Chapter 7 trustee. Berkshire filed a Notice of Appeal challenging this appointment. The case reached the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit, which had to determine if it had the authority to review the U.S. Trustee's appointment action.
The court emphasized its independent obligation to examine its own jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 158. This statute authorizes the panel to hear appeals only from 'final judgments, orders, and decrees' of the bankruptcy court, or specific interlocutory orders. The court analyzed the document Berkshire appealed: a text entry filed by the U.S. Trustee appointing a trustee. The court reasoned that this appointment was an action of the United States Trustee, not an order issued by the bankruptcy court itself. Because the document was not a judgment, order, or decree of the bankruptcy court, it did not fall within the scope of appeals permitted under the statute. The court cited Dwyer v. Cohn and TooBaRoo, LLC v. Olsen to support the principle that appellate courts must verify jurisdiction before proceeding.
The appeal is dismissed, meaning the appointment of Lauren R. Goodman as Chapter 7 trustee stands. Debtors cannot appeal the U.S. Trustee's appointment of a trustee directly to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel; they must wait for a final order from the bankruptcy court or pursue other procedural avenues. This decision clarifies that the U.S. Trustee's administrative actions are not immediately appealable as court orders.