The court had entered an order in an adversary proceeding.  After the fourteen-day time period to appeal had lapsed, the court closed the adversary proceeding and subsequently closed the debtor’s main bankruptcy case.  Thereafter, the government filed a motion to reopen the case, asserting that the court had only ruled on one of the two claims in the debtor’s complaint and thus the order was not a final order.  Therefore, the government argued, because the court closed the adversary proceeding and main bankruptcy case without having entered a final judgment, the court did so inappropriately and cause existed to reopen the case. 

            The court found that the government had not met its burden in showing sufficient cause existed to reopen the case and that reopening would be futile and a waste of judicial resources.  The court held that the opinion and order constituted a final judgment and reopening the case would only afford the government additional time to file an appeal, which is not a “compelling circumstance.”