In
Hafen v. Adams (In re Hafen), 616 B.R. 570 (B.A.P. 10
th Cir. 2020), a bankruptcy appellate panel from the Tenth Circuit ( BAP ) held that the bankruptcy court is the only court with subject-matter jurisdiction to decide whether a claim or cause of action is property of a debtors bankruptcy estate. As a consequence, the BAP held that the bankruptcy court abused its discretion by permitting a state court to determine whether creditors had standing to sue third-party recipients of allegedly fraudulent transfers. The decision illustrates the distinction between bankruptcy standing and constitutional standing to sue in federal courts.
Jurisdiction Over Estate Property in Bankruptcy