A Guiding Light: Safety Harbor

The sky is falling! The skyis falling! Or is it? Today, courts across the country face a difficult task in light of the Supreme Court\u27s recent decision regarding bankruptcy courts\u27 jurisdiction, Stern v. Marshall. Stern held bankruptcy courts are constitutionally proscribed from entering final judgment based on a private, state-law counterclaim that is not resolved in the process of ruling on a creditor\u27s proof of claim. A bankruptcy court must now consider Stern when a litigant objects to the court\u27s authority. With over 3,000 adversary proceedings pending in the Middle District of Florida for the month of July 2012 alone, Stern could notably impact how districts manage bankruptcy cases. A broad reading of Stern could mean many bankruptcy matters must be added to the already crowded district courts\u27 dockets, while a narrow reading will only minimally affect the current division of labor