Abstract
Involuntary bankruptcy petitions are a useful tool for creditors when collecting on debts and judgments or when mystery shrouds the alleged debtor's activities. One of the key threshold issues that creditors must consider prior to filing an involuntary petition is whether their claims are "not contingent as to liability or the subject of a bona fide dispute as to liability or amount. In Marciano v. Chapnick, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the holder of an unstayed judgment could qualify as a petitioning creditor under § 303(b)(1) despite the fact that it was being appealed. Prior to the Ninth Circuit's decision in Marciano, only one circuit court -- the Fourth Circuit -- had issued a published opinion regarding whether an unstayed judgment on appeal could be subject to a bona fide dispute.