Law Commons^™

Reexamining The Doctrine Of Equitable Mootness In Light Of The Detroit Bankruptcy, Nicole Langston

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Garnering debate, and sometimes harsh criticism, the doctrine of equitable mootness has been a focal point for academic debates among legal scholars for decades. "Unlike the constitutional doctrine of mootness, which bars consideration of appeals because no Article III case or controversy remains, the doctrine of equitable mootness is a pragmatic judicially-created principle, grounded in the notion that, with the passage of time after a judgment in equity and implementation of that judgment, effective relief on appeal becomes impractical, imprudent, and therefore inequitable. Applied principally in bankruptcy proceedings because of the equitable nature of bankruptcy judgments, equitable mootness is often …