Page:MOAC Mall Holdings v. Transform Holdco.pdf/2

2 MOAC’s appeal. After the Assignment Order became effective, Sears assigned the lease to Transform’s designee, and MOAC appealed the Assignment Order. The District Court sided with MOAC on the adequate-assurance issue. Transform filed for rehearing, arguing that §363(m) deprived the District Court of jurisdiction. The District Court determined that Second Circuit precedent bound it to treat §363(m) as jurisdictional and dismissed the appeal. The Second Circuit affirmed.

(1) Congressional statutes are replete with “preconditions to relief,” Fort Bend County v. Davis, 587 U. S. ___, ___, such as filing deadlines, see United States v. Kwai Fun Wong, 575 U. S. 402, 410, and exhaustion requirements, see Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, 559 U. S. 154, 157–158, 166, and n. 6. Congress can, if it chooses, make compliance with such rules “important and mandatory,” Henderson v. Shinseki, 562 U. S. 428, 435, but that does not, in itself, make such rules jurisdictional. Because the “jurisdictional” label is consequential and has sometimes been loosely used by this Court, the Court has endeavored “to bring some discipline” to this area. Ibid. This Court has clarified that the jurisdictional label bears “on the power of the court, rather than [on] the rights or obligations of the parties.” Reed Elsevier, 559 U. S., at 161. The Court will only treat a provision as jurisdictional if Congress “ ‘clearly states’ ” as much. Boechler v. Commissioner, 596 U. S. ___, ___. This clear-statement rule does not require Congress to use “ ‘magic words,’ ” but Congress’s statement must be clear and not