## Facts

- Delta Resources, Inc. filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition and owned heavy equipment used as collateral.
- Orix Credit Alliance, Inc. held a perfected security interest in roughly thirteen pieces of Delta’s heavy equipment and asserted it was oversecured (collateral value exceeded the debt).
- Orix sought (1) adequate protection payments to address depreciation of the equipment during the case and (2) postpetition interest under 11 U.S.C. § 506(b) based on its alleged oversecured status.
- The bankruptcy court ordered adequate protection payments of $9,972 per month to Orix but denied postpetition interest at that stage.
- In a related adversary proceeding involving Orix and AmSouth Bank, N.A., the bankruptcy court entered an order on December 21, 1993 determining lien priority in the equipment, a determination bearing on whether Orix was oversecured.
- Orix appealed the denial of postpetition interest to the district court; Delta cross-appealed the adequate protection award.
- The district court ruled that Orix was entitled to postpetition interest in addition to the monthly adequate protection payments.
- Delta filed a notice of appeal to the Eleventh Circuit seeking review of the district court’s order.

## Issues

1. Whether the Eleventh Circuit had appellate jurisdiction where Delta’s notice of appeal was filed outside the time allowed by the applicable statutes and rules governing bankruptcy appeals.
2. Whether the bankruptcy court’s lien-priority order in the related adversary proceeding triggered the time for appeal on issues tied to Orix’s oversecured status.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Delta’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
- The court held that the notice of appeal was untimely under the governing appeal deadlines.
- Because timeliness was jurisdictional, the court did not reach the merits of whether § 506(b) entitled Orix to postpetition interest in addition to adequate protection payments.

## Legal Principles

- A timely notice of appeal is mandatory and jurisdictional; an untimely appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
- In bankruptcy-related appellate practice, final orders in related proceedings (including adversary proceedings determining lien priority) can be operative for triggering appellate deadlines when later disputes depend on that determination.
- When jurisdiction is lacking due to an untimely notice of appeal, a court of appeals cannot consider substantive issues, regardless of their merits.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Delta’s bankruptcy appeal because the notice of appeal was filed after the jurisdictional deadline, leaving the district court’s ruling (awarding Orix postpetition interest in addition to adequate protection) unreviewed on the merits.


Orix Credit Alliance, Inc. v. Delta Resources, Inc. (In re Delta Resources, Inc.), 54 F.3d 722 (11th Cir. 1995)