“We hold that, upon consent of the parties and referral by a district court, a magistrate judge may enter a final judgment in a bankruptcy appeal.” In re MTE Holdings LLC, 2025 WL 5682927*4 (3d Cir. May 7, 2025). This holding represents a split with the Fifth and Seventh Circuits. See, e.g., In re Elcona Homes Corp., 810 F. 2d 136, 140 (7th Cir. 1987) (“… the district court did not have the authority to refer the appeal from the bankruptcy court to a magistrate….”); Minerex Erdoel, Inc. v. Sina, Inc., 838 F. 2d. 781, 785 (5th Cir. 1988) (“… reference by District Court to a magistrate of an appeal from a bankruptcy court decision was not proper.”) See also, Virginia Beach Fed’l. Sav. and Loan Ass’n. v. Wood, 901 F.2d 849, 851 (10th Cir. 1990) (dicta) (“… magistrates are not permitted to enter final decisions in bankruptcy appeals.”). Most significant, MTE effectively overrules In re Morrissey, 717 F. 2d 100, 101 (3d Cir. 1983), an earlier Third Circuit decision relied on by the Seventh and Fifth Circuits in Elcona and Minerex.
