Equitable Mootness Is Alive and Well

The Third Circuit, in In re Tribune Media Company, recently applied the doctrine of equitable mootness in a case demonstrating circumstances where an appeal is equitably moot and where it is not. The court held that the appeal of Aurelius Capital Management, which sought to undo a global settlement integral to the consummated Chapter 11 plan, was equitably moot. In contrast, the court held that the appeal of certain trustees of structurally senior notes, which sought to enforce a subordination agreement against a different class of creditors under the Chapter 11 plan, was not equitably moot. The Third Circuit opinion thoroughly discusses the parameters of the equitable mootness doctrine, and it is required reading for all bankruptcy practitioners. This decision makes clear that the doctrine of equitable mootness remains alive and well in the Third Circuit.