Elliott v. General Motors LLC

On June 1, 2009, General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”), the nation’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and the creator of such iconic American brands as Chevrolet and Cadillac, filed for bankruptcy. During the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, as access to credit tightened and consumer spending diminished, Old GM posted net losses of $70 billion over the course of a year and a half. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) loaned billions of dollars from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) to buy the company time to revamp its business model. When Old GM’s private efforts failed, President Barack Obama announced to the nation a solution — “a quick, surgical bankruptcy.”2 Old GM petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and only forty days later the new General Motors LLC (“New GM”) emerged.

This case involves one of the- consequences of the GM bankruptcy. Beginning in February 2014,. New GM began recalling cars due to a defect in their ignition switches. The defect was potentially lethal: while in motion, a car’s ignition could accidentally turn off, shutting down the engine, disabling power steering and braking, and deactivating the airbags.

Many of the cars in question were built years before the GM bankruptcy, but individuals claiming harm from the ignition switch defect faced a potential barrier created by the bankruptcy process. In bankruptcy, Old GM had used 11 U.S.C. § 863 of the Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”) to sell its assets to New GM “free and clear.” In plain terms, where individuals might have had claims against Old GM, a “free and clear” provision in the bankruptcy court’s sale order (the “Sale Order”) barred those same claims from being brought against New GM as the successor corporation.

Various individuals nonetheless initiated class action lawsuits against New GM, asserting “successor liability” claims and seeking damages for losses and injuries arising from the ignition switch defect and other defects. New GM argued that, because of the “free and clear” provision, claims could only be brought against Old GM, and not New GM.

On April 15, 2015, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Gerber, J.) agreed and enforced the Sale Order to enjoin many of these claims against New GM. Though the bankruptcy court also determined that these plaintiffs did not have notice of the Sale Order as required by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, the bankruptcy court denied plaintiffs relief from the Sale Order on all but a subset of claims. Finally, the bankruptcy court invoked the doctrine of equitable mootness to bar relief for would-be claims against a trust established in bankruptcy court to *144pay out unsecured claims against Old GM (“GUC Trust”).3

The bankruptcy court entered judgment and certified the judgment for direct review by this Court.4 Four groups of plaintiffs appealed, as did New GM and GUC Trust. We affirm, reverse, and vacate in part the bankruptcy court’s decision to enforce the Sale Order against' plaintiffs and vacate as advisory its decision on equitable mootness.

BACKGROUND

I. Bailout

In the final two quarters of 2007, as the American economy suffered a significant downturn, Old GM posted net losses of approximately $39 billion and $722 million. General Motors Corp., Annual Report (Form 10-K) 245 (Mar. 5, 2009). In 2008, it posted quarterly net losses of approximately $3.3 billion, $15.5 billion, $2.5 billion, and $9.6 billion. Id. In a year and a half, Old GM had managed to hemorrhage over $70 billion.

The possibility of Old GM’s collapse alarmed many. Old GM employed roughly 240,000 workers and provided pensions to another 500,000 retirees. Id. at 19, 262. The company also purchased parts from over eleven thousand suppliers and marketed through roughly six thousand dealerships. A disorderly collapse of Old GM would have far-reaching consequences.

After Congress declined to bail out Old GM, President George W. Bush announced on December 19, 2008 that the executive branch would provide emergency loans to help automakers “stave off bankruptcy while they develop plans for viability.”5 In Old GM’s case, TARP loaned $13.4 billion on the condition that Old GM both submit a business plan for long-term viability to the President no later than February 17, 2009 and undergo any necessary revisions no later than March 31, 2009. If the President found the business plan unsatisfactory, the TARP funds would become due and payable in thirty days, rendering Old GM insolvent and effectively forcing it into bankruptcy.

On March 30, 2009, President Obama told the nation that Old GM’s business plan was not viable.6 At the same time, the President provided Old GM with another $6 billion loan and sixty more days to revise its plan along certain parameters. President Obama also reassured the public:

But just in case there’s still nagging doubts, let me say it as plainly as I can: If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it’s ever been, because starting today, the United States Government will stand behind your warranty.7

*145As the President stood behind the reliability of GM cars, pledging another $600 million to back all warranty coverage, bankruptcy remained a stark possibility.8

II. Bankruptcy

The federal aid did not succeed in averting bankruptcy. Old GM fared no better in the first quarter of 2009 — posting on May 8, 2009 a $5.9 billion net loss. General Motors Corp., Quarterly Report (Form 10-Q) 57 (May 8, 2009). But entering bankruptcy posed a unique set of problems: Old GM sought to restructure and become profitable again, not to shut down; yet if Old GM lingered in bankruptcy too long, operating expenses would accumulate and consumer confidence in the GM brand could deteriorate, leaving Old GM no alternative but to liquidate and close once and for all. On June 1, 2009, with these risks in mind, Old GM petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

A. Mechanics of the § 363 Sale

The same day, Old GM filed a motion to sell itself to New GM (also dubbed “Vehicle Acquisition Holdings LLC” or “NGMCO, Inc.”), complete with a 103-page draft sale agreement and 30-page proposed sale order.

Through this proposed sale, Old GM was attempting not a traditional Chapter 11 reorganization, but a transaction pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 363 — a less common way of effecting a bankruptcy. See, e.g., In re Lionel Corp., 722 F.2d 1063, 1066-70 (2d Cir. 1983) (explaining the history of § 363). The usual Chapter 11 reorganization follows set procedures: the company entering bankruptcy (the “debtor”) files a reorganization plan disclosing to creditors how they will be treated, asks those creditors to vote to accept the plan, and then emerges from bankruptcy with its liabilities restructured along certain parameters. See 11 U.S.C. §§ 1121-1129.9 This jostling can take years.10 In contrast in a § 363 sale of substantially all assets, the debtor does not truly “reorganize.” Instead, it sells its primary assets to a successor corporation, which immediately takes over the business. See Fla. Dep’t of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc., 554 U.S. 33, 37 n. 2, 128 S.Ct. 2326, 171 L.Ed.2d 203 (2008). As evidenced by the GM bankruptcy, a § 363 sale can close in a matter of weeks.

The proposed sale was, in effect, a complex transaction made possible by bankruptcy law. GM’s sale would proceed in several parts.' First, Old GM would become a “debtor-in-possession” under the Code. See 11 U.S.C. § 1101. Where a trustee might otherwise be appointéd to assert *146outside control of the debtor, id. § 1104, a debtor-in-possession, continues operating its business, id. §§ 1107, 1108. See In re Smart World Techs., LLC, 423 F.3d 166, 174 n. 10 (2d Cir. 2005) (“In a chapter 11 case, ... the debtor usually remains' in control of the estate as the ‘debtor in possession.’”). Still in control, Old GM could seek the bankruptcy court’s permission to sell portions of its business. See 11 U.S.C. § 363(b)(1).

Second, there would be New GM, a company owned predominantly by Treasury (over sixty percent). As proposed, New GM would acquire from Old GM substantially all of its business — what one might commonly think of as the automaker “GM.” But New GM would not take on all of Old GM’s liabilities. The Code allows a § 363 sale “free and clear of any interest in such property.” 11 U.S.C. § 363(f). The proposed sale order provided that New GM would acquire Old GM assets “free and clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances, and other interests of any kind or nature whatsoever, including rights or claims based on any successor or transferee liability.” J. App. 276. Other than a few liabilities that New GM would assume as its own, this “free and clear” provision would act as a liability shield to prevent individuals with claims against Old GM from suing New GM. Once the sale closed, the “bankruptcy” would be done: New GM could immediately begin operating the GM business, free of Old GM’s debts.

Third, Old GM would remain. The proposed sale would leave Old GM with some assets, including $1,175 billion in cash, interests in the Saturn brand, and certain real and personal property. Old GM would also receive consideration from New GM, including a promise to repay Treasury and Canadian government loans used to finance the business through bankruptcy and a ten-percent equity stake in New GM. Old GM would retain, however, the bulk of its old liabilities.

Fourth, Old GM would liquidate. Though liquidation is not formally part of a § 363 sale, the sale would result in two GM companies. Old GM would disband: it would rename itself “Motors Liquidation Company” and arrange a plan for liquidation that addressed how its remaining liabilities would be paid. See 11 U.S.C. § 1129(a)(ll). Thus, while New GM would quickly emerge from bankruptcy to operate the GM business, Old GM would remain in bankruptcy and undergo a traditional, lengthy liquidation process.

B. Sale Order

One day after Old GM filed its motion, on June 2, 2009, the bankruptcy court ordered Old GM to provide notice of the proposed sale order. Old GM was required to send direct mail notice of its proposed sale order to numerous interested parties, including “all parties who are known to have asserted any lien, claim, encumbrance, or interest in or on [the to-be-sold assets],” and to post publication notice of the same in major publications, including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. J. App. 385-86. The sale notice specified that interested parties would have until June 19, 2009 to submit to the bankruptcy court responses and objections to the proposed sale order.

The bankruptcy court proceeded to hear over 850 objections to the proposed sale order over the course of three days, between June 30 and July 2, 2009. On July 5, 2009, after addressing and dismissing the objections, the bankruptcy court approved the § 363 sale. In re General Motors Corp. (“GM”), 407 B.R. 463 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009) (Gerber, J.). Among those objections were arguments against the imposition of a “free and clear” provision to bar claims against New GM as the successor to Old *147GM made by consumer organizations, state attorneys general, and accident victims.

Next, the bankruptcy court issued the Sale Order, which entered into effect the final sale agreement between Old GM and New GM (the “Sale Agreement”). In the Sale Agreement, New GM assumed fifteen categories of liabilities. As relevant here, New GM agreed to assume liability for accidents after the closing date for the § 363 sale and to make repairs pursuant to express warranties issued in connection with the sale of GM cars — two liability provisions present in the initial draft sale agreement. The Sale Agreement also provided a new provision — resulting from negotiations among state attorneys general, the GM parties, and Treasury during the course of the sale hearing — that New GM would assume liability for any Lemon Law claims.11 With these exceptions, New GM would be “free and clear” of any and all liabilities of Old GM.

On July 10, 2009, the § 363 sale officially closed, and New GM began operating the automaker business. As a matter of public perception, the GM bankruptcy was over— the company had exited bankruptcy in forty days.12

C. Liquidation of Old GM

Meanwhile, Old GM remained in bankruptcy. Over the next several years, the bankruptcy court managed the process of satisfying liabilities that remained with Old GM (i. e., not taken on by New GM).

The bankruptcy court set November 30, 2009 as the “bar date” for any individual or entity to file a proof of claim — that is, to assert a claim as to Old GM’s remaining assets. Old GM filed its first Chapter 11 liquidation plan on August 31, 2010, and amended it on December 8, 2010 and again on March 29, 2011. The proposed plan provided how claims against Old GM would be paid: secured claims, other priority claims, and environmental claims made by the government would be paid in full; unsecured claims (claims without an assurance of payment, such as in the form of a lien on property) would not.

Instead, under the plan, Old GM would establish GUC Trust, which would be administered by the Wilmington Trust Company. Once GUC Trust (and other like trusts) was established, Old GM would dissolve.

GUC Trust would hold certain Old GM assets — including New GM stock and stock warrants that could be used to purchase shares at fixed prices, along with other financial instruments. Creditors with unsecured claims against Old GM would receive these New GM securities and “units” of GUC Trust (the value of which would be pegged to the residual value of GUC Trust) on a pro rata basis in satisfaction of their claims. The Sale Agreement also imposed an “accordion feature” to ensure that GUC Trust would remain adequately funded in the event that the amount of unsecured claims grew too large. The accordion feature provided that if “the Bank*148ruptcy Court makes a finding that the estimated aggregate allowed general unsecured claims against [Old GM’s] estates exceed $35 [billion], then [New GM] will ... issue 10,000,000 additional shares of Common Stock ... to [Old GM].” J. App. 1699.

On March 29, 2011, the bankruptcy court confirmed this liquidation plan. GUC Trust made quarterly distributions of its assets thereafter. The initial distribution released more than seventy-five percent of the New GM securities.

On February 8, 2012, the bankruptcy court ordered that no further claims against Old GM and payable by GUC Trust would be allowed unless the claim amended a prior claim, was filed with GUC Trust’s consent, or was deemed timely filed by the bankruptcy court. As of March 31, 2014, GUC Trust had distributed roughly ninety percent of its New GM securities and nearly 32 million units of GUC Trust; the expected value of unsecured claims' against Old GM totaled roughly $32 billion, not enough to trigger the accordion feature and involve New GM in the bankruptcy. The GM bankruptcy that began five years earlier appeared to be approaching its end.

III. Ignition Switch Defect

On February 7, 2014, New GM first informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) that it would be recalling, among other vehicles, the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. A defect in the ignition switch could prevent airbags from deploying.

A later congressional staff report, which followed four days of testimony by New GM CEO Mary Barra before committees of the House of Representatives and Senate, described what could happen by referring to an actual tragic accident caused by the defect:13 In October 2006, three teenagers were riding in a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt when the driver lost control and the car careened off the side of the road. The vehicle flew into a telephone utility box and several trees. The airbags did not deploy, and two of the teenagers died.

From February until October 2014, New GM would issue over 60 recalls, with the number of affected vehicles in the United States alone surpassing 25 million. New GM hired attorney Anton Valukas of the law firm Jenner & Block to investigate; he did so and prepared an extensive report (the ‘Valukas Report”).14

In 1997, Old GM sold three out of ten cars on the road in North America. See General Motors Corp., Annual Report (Form 10-K) 60 (Mar. 20, 1998). Engineers began developing a new ignition switch that could be used in multiple vehicles across the GM brand, first by setting *149technical specifications for the switch and then by testing prototypes against those specifications.

Throughout testing, which lasted until 2002, prototypes consistently failed to meet technical specifications. In particular, a low amount of torque could cause the ignition switch to switch to “accessory” or “off.”15 A low torque threshold on an ignition switch would mean that little force— perhaps even the bump of a stray knee— would be needed to rotate the key in the switch from the “on” position to the “accessory” or “off’ position.

Near the end of testing, an engineer commented on the ignition switch’s lingering problems in an email: he was “tired of the switch from hell.” J. App. 9696. Three months later, in May 2002, the ignition switch was approved for production, despite never having passed testing.

In the fall of 2002, Old GM began producing vehicles with the faulty ignition switch. Almost immediately, customers complained of moving stalls, sometimes at highway speeds — instances where the engine and power steering and braking cut off while the car was in motion, leaving drivers to manually maneuver the vehicle, that is, without assistance of the car’s power steering and braking systems.

Despite customer complaints, and grumblings in the press, Old GM classified the moving stall as a “non-safety issue.” Id. at 9711. As Valukas put it, “on a scale of 1 (most severe) to 4 (least severe) ... the problem could have been designated a severity level 1 safety problem, [but] it was not.” Id. Instead, the moving stall was assigned a severity level of 8. Old GM personnel considered the problem to be a matter of customer satisfaction, not safety. These personnel apparently also did not then fully realize that when a car shuts off, so do its airbags. But as early as August 2001, at least some Old GM engineers understood that turning off the ignition switch could prevent airbags from deploying.

Complaints about the ignition switch continued. Between 2004 and 2005, NHTSA began asking questions about engine stalls. In 2005, several media outlets also reported on the stalls. See, e.g., Jeff Sabatini, Making a Case for Keyless Ignitions, N.Y. Times (June 19, 2005). Senior attorneys studied the stalls, but considered the risk to be “remote[ ].” J. App. 9734. At the same time, Old GM’s product investigations unit recreated the ignition switch’s issues by using only a heavy keychain to generate torque. Finally, in December 2005, Old GM issued a bulletin to dealers, but not to customers, warning them that “low ignition key cylinder torque” could cause cars to turn off. Id. at 9740. The bulletin did not mention that, as a result, cars could stall on the road.

Then came reports of fatalities. In late 2005 through 2006, news of deaths from airbag non-deployments in crashes where airbags should have deployed reached the desks of Old GM’s legal team. Around April 2006, Old GM engineers decided on a design change of the ignition switch to increase the torque. Old GM engineers did so quietly, without changing the ignition switch’s part number, a change that would have signaled that improvements or adjustments had been made.

In February 2007, a Wisconsin state trooper’s report made its way into the files of Old GM’s legal department: “The two front seat airbags did not deploy. It appears that the ignition switch had somehow been turned from the run position to *150accessory prior to the collision with the trees.” Id. at 9764. NHTSA similarly brought to Old GM’s attention reported airbag non-deployments. See Transportation Research Center, Indiana University, On-Site Air Bag Non-Deployment Investigation 7 (Apr. 25, 2007, rev. Mar. 31, 2008). As more incidents with its cars piled up, Old GM finally drafted an updated bulletin to dealers warning them of possible “stalls,” but never sent it out.

Old GM internally continued to investigate. By May 2009, staff had figured out that non-deployment of airbags in these crashes was attributable to a sudden loss of power. They believed that one of the two “most likely explanation^] for the power mode signal change was ... a problem with the Ignition Switch.” J. App. 9783. By June 2009, Old GM engineers had implemented a change to the ignition key, hoping to fix the problem once and for all. One engineer lamented that “[t]his issue has been around since man first lumbered, out of [the] sea and stood on two feet.” Id. at 9781.

Later, the Yalukas Report commented on the general attitude at Old GM. For eleven years, “GM heard over and over from various quarters — including customers, dealers, the press,- and their own employees — that the car’s ignition switch led to moving stalls, group after group and committee after committee within GM that reviewed the issue failed to take action or acted too slowly. Although everyone had responsibility to fix the problem, nobody took responsibility.” J. App. 9650.

The Yalukas Report recounted aspects of GM’s corporate culture. With the “GM salute,” - employees would attend action meetings and literally cross their arms and point fingers at others to shirk responsibility. With the “GM nod,” employees would (again) literally nod in agreement to endorse a proposed plan, understanding that they and others had no intention of following through. Finally, the Report described how GM employees, instead of taking action, would claim the need to keep searching for the “root cause” of the moving stalls and airbag non-deployments. This “search for root cause became a basis for doing nothing to resolve the problem for years.” Id. at 9906.

Indeed, New GM would not begin recalling cars for ignition switch defects until February 2014. Soon after New GM’s initial recall, individuals filed dozens of class actions lawsuits, claiming that the ignition switch defect caused personal injuries and economic losses, both before and after the § 363 sale closed.16 New GM sought to enforce the Sale Order, invoking the liability shield to hold New GM “free and clear” of various claims. This meant that when it came to Old GM cars New GM would pay for post-closing personal injuries, make repairs, and follow Lemon Laws, but nothing else. The amount of purportedly barred liabilities was substantial — an estimated $7 to $10 billion in economic losses, not to mention damages from pre-closing accidents.

IV. Proceedings Below

On April 21, 2014, Steven Groman and others (the “Groman Plaintiffs”) initiated an adversary proceeding against New GM in the bankruptcy court below, asserting economic losses arising from the ignition switch defect. The same day, New GM moved to enforce the Sale Order to enjoin those claims, as well as claims in other *151ignition switch actions then being pursued against New GM.

Other plaintiffs allegedly affected by the Sale Order included classes of individuals who had suffered pre-closing injuries arising from the ignition switch defect (“Pre-Closing Accident Plaintiffs”), economic losses arising from the ignition switch defect in Old GM cars (“Ignition Switch Plaintiffs”), and damages arising from defects other than the ignition switch in Old GM cars (“Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs”).17 Included within the Ignition Switch Plaintiffs were individuals who had purchased Old GM cars secondhand after the § 363 sale closed (“Used Car Purchasers”).

On appeal, several orders are before us. First, the Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs filed a motion, asserting, among other things, that the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction to enforce the Sale Order. On August 6, 2014, the bankruptcy court denied that motion. In re Motors Liquidation Co. (“MLC I”), 514 B.R. 377 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2014) (Gerber, J.).

Second, after receiving further briefing and hearing oral argument on the motion to enforce, on April 15, 2015 the bankruptcy court decided to enforce the Sale Order in part and dismiss any would-be claims against GUC Trust because relief would be equitably moot. In re Motors Liquidation Co. (“MLC II”), 529 B.R. 510 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2015) (Gerber, J.). The bankruptcy court first determined plaintiffs lacked notice consistent with procedural due process. Id. at 540-60. In particular, the bankruptcy court found that the ignition switch claims were known to or reasonably ascertainable by Old GM prior to the sale, and thus plaintiffs were entitled to actual notice, as opposed to the mere publication notice that they received. Id. at 556-60. The bankruptcy court found, however, that with one exception plaintiffs had not been “prejudiced” by this lack of notice — the exception being claims stemming from New GM’s own wrongful conduct in concealing defects (so-called “independent claims”). Id. at 560-74. In other words, the bankruptcy court held that New GM could not be sued — in bankruptcy court or elsewhere — for ignition switch claims that otherwise could have been brought against Old GM, unless those claims arose from New GM’s own wrongful conduct. Id. at 574-83.

In the same decision, the bankruptcy court addressed arguments by GUC Trust that it should not be held as a source for relief either. Applying the factors set out in In re Chateaugay Corp. (“Chateaugay III”), 10 F.3d 944 (2d Cir. 1993), the bankruptcy court concluded that relief for any late claims against GUC Trust was equitably moot, as the plan had long been substantially consummated. MLC II, 529 B.R. at 583-92. Finally, the bankruptcy court outlined the standard for any future fraud on the court claims. Id. at 592-97. With these issues resolved, the bankruptcy court certified its decision for appeal to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158. Id. at 597-98.

Third, the bankruptcy court issued another decision after the parties disagreed on the form of judgment and other ancillary issues. On May 27, 2015, the bankruptcy court clarified that the Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs would be bound by the judgment against the other plaintiffs, but would have seventeen days following entry of judgment to object. In re Motors Liquidation Co. (“MLC III”), 531 B.R. 354 *152(Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2015) (Gerber, J.). The bankruptcy court left open the question of whether Old GM knew of other defects.

On June 1, 2015, the bankruptcy court entered judgment against all plaintiffs and issued an order certifying the judgment for direct appeal. Following briefing by the Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs, on July 22, 2015, the bankruptcy court rejected their objections to the judgment.

New GM, GUC Trust, and the four groups of plaintiffs described above — the Groman Plaintiffs, Ignition Switch Plaintiffs, Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs, and Pre-Closing Accident Plaintiffs — appealed.18 We turn to these appeals.

DISCUSSION

The Code permits a debtor to sell substantially all of its assets to a successor corporation through a § 363 sale, outside of the normal reorganization process. Here, no party seeks to undo the sale of Old GM’s assets to New GM, as executed through the Sale Order.19 Instead, plaintiffs challenge the extent to which the bankruptcy court may absolve New GM, as a successor corporation, of Old GM’s liabilities. See generally 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 363.02[2] (Alan N. Resniek & Harry J. Sommer eds., 16th ed. 2013) [hereinafter “Collier on Bankruptcy”] (noting that “use of a section 363 sale probably reached its zenith” with the GM bankruptcy). In particular, they dispute whether New GM may use the Sale Order’s “free and clear” provision to shield itself from claims primarily arising out of the ignition switch defect and other defects.

The decisions below generate four issues on appeal: (1) the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction to enforce the Sale Order, (2) the scope of the power to sell assets “free and clear” of all interests, (3) the procedural due process requirements with respect to notice of such a sale, and (4) the bankruptcy court’s ruling that would-be claims against GUC Trust are equitably moot.

I. Jurisdiction

We first address the bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction. New GM argued below that successor liability claims against it should be enjoined, and the bankruptcy court concluded as a threshold matter that it had jurisdiction to enforce the Sale Order. See MLC I, 514 B.R. at 380-83. The Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs challenge jurisdiction: (1) as a whole to enjoin claims against New GM, (2) with respect to independent claims, which stem from New GM’s own wrongful conduct, and (3) to issue a successive injunction. We review de novo rulings as to the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction. See In re Petrie Retail, Inc., 304 F.3d 223, 228 (2d Cir. 2002).

First, as to jurisdiction broadly, “[t]he jurisdiction of the bankruptcy courts, like that of other federal courts, is grounded in, and limited by, statute.” Celotex Corp. v. Edwards, 514 U.S. 300, 307, 115 S.Ct. 1493, 131 L.Ed.2d 403 (1995); see *15328 U.S.C. § 1334. Bankruptcy courts may exercise jurisdiction, through referral from the district court, over three broad categories of proceedings: those “arising under title 11” of the Code, those “arising in ... a case under title 11,” and those “related to a case under title 11.” 28 U.S.C. § 157(a). Proceedings “arising under title 11, or arising in a case under title 11,” are deemed “core proceedings.” Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462, 476, 131 S.Ct. 2594, 180 L.Ed.2d 475 (2011) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)). In those proceedings, bankruptcy courts retain comprehensive power to resolve claims and enter orders or judgments. See In re Millenium Seacarriers, Inc., 419 F.3d 83, 96 (2d Cir. 2005).

“[T]he meaning of the statutory language ‘arising in’ may not be entirely clear.” Baker v. Simpson, 613 F.3d 346, 351 (2d Cir. 2010). At a minimum, a bankruptcy court’s “arising in” jurisdiction includes claims that “are not based on any right expressly created by [Tjitle 11, but nevertheless, would have no existence outside of the bankruptcy.” Id. (quoting In re Wood, 825 F.2d 90, 97 (5th Cir. 1987)).

A bankruptcy court’s decision to interpret and enforce a prior sale order falls under this formulation of “arising in” jurisdiction. An order consummating a debtor’s sale of property would not exist but for the Code, see 11 U.S.C. § 363(b), and the Code charges the bankruptcy court with carrying out its orders, see id. § 105(a) (providing that bankruptcy court “may issue any order, process, or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this title”). Hence, a bankruptcy court “plainly ha[s] jurisdiction to interpret and enforce its own prior orders.” Travelers Indem. Co. v. Bailey, 557 U.S. 137, 151, 129 S.Ct. 2195, 174 L.Ed.2d 99 (2009); see Millenium Seacarriers, 419 F.3d at 96 (“A bankruptcy court retains post-confirmation jurisdiction to interpret and enforce its own orders, particularly when disputes arise over a bankruptcy plan of reorganization.” (quoting Petrie Retail, 304 F.3d at 230)). That is what happened here. The bankruptcy court first interpreted the “free and clear” provision that barred successor liability claims — a provision that was integral to resolving Old GM’s bankruptcy — and then determined whether to enforce that provision

Second, the Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs specify that the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction over independent claims. Even though the bankruptcy court ultimately did not enjoin independent claims, we address this argument because it implicates subject matter jurisdiction. In any event, the argument is misguided. The Sale Order, on its face, does not bar independent claims against New GM; instead, it broadly transfers assets to New GM “free and clear of liens, claims, encumbrances, and other interests ..., including rights or claims ... based on any successor or transferee liability.” J. App. 1621. By making the argument that the bankruptcy court could not enjoin independent claims through the Sale Order, the Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs already assume that the bankruptcy court indeed has jurisdiction to interpret the Sale Order to determine whether it covers independent claims and to hear a motion to enforce in the first place.

Third, the Non-Ignition Switch Plaintiffs argue that the bankruptcy court lacked power to issue a so-called successive injunction. In certain parts of the Sale Order, the bankruptcy court had included language that successor liability claims would be “forever prohibited and enjoined.” J. App. 1649. But New GM was not seeking an injunction to stop plaintiffs from violating that prior injunction; New GM wanted the bankruptcy court to con*154firm that the Sale Order covered these plaintiffs. In other words, New GM “did not seek a new injunction but, rather, ‘[sought] to enforce an injunction already in place.’ ” In re Kalikow, 602 F.3d 82, 93 (2d Cir. 2010) (quoting In re Texaco Inc., 182 B.R. 937, 945 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1995)). In such situations, bankruptcy courts have jurisdiction to decide a “motion s[eeking] enforcement of a pre-existing injunction issued as part of the bankruptcy court’s sale order.” Petrie Retail, 304 F.3d at 230.

Accordingly, we agree that the bankruptcy court had jurisdiction to interpret and enforce the Sale Order. See MLC I, 514 B.R. at 380-83.

II. Scope of “Free and Clear” Provision

We turn to the scope of the Sale Order. The Sale Order transferred assets from Old GM to New GM “free and clear of liens, claims, encumbrances, and other interests ..., including rights or claims ... based on any successor or transferee liability.” J. App. 1621. The bankruptcy court did not explicitly address what claims were covered by the Sale Order.20

We address the scope of the Sale Order because it implicates our procedural due process analysis that follows. If the Sale Order covers certain claims, then we would have to consider whether plaintiffs’ due process rights are violated by applying the “free and clear” clause to' those claims. If the Sale Order did not cover certain claims, however, then those claims could not be enjoined by enforcing the Sale Order and due process concerns would not be implicated. We interpret the Sale Order de novo to determine what claims are barred. See In re Duplan Corp., 212 F.3d 144, 151 (2d Cir. 2000); see also Petrie Retail, 304 F.3d at 229 (noting instance where enforcement first required interpretation of prior order).

A. Applicable Law

The Code allows the trustee or debtor-in-possession to “use, sell, or lease, other than in the ordinary course of business, property of the estate.” 11 U.S.C. § 363(b)(1). A sale pursuant to § 363(b) may be made “free and clear of any interest in such property” if any condition on a list of conditions is met. Id. § 363(f). “Yet the Code does not define the concept of ‘interest,’ of which the property may be sold free and clear,” 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 363.06[1], nor does it express the extent to which “claims” fall within the ambit of “interests.”

New GM asserts that In re Chrysler LLC, 576 F.3d 108, 126 (2d Cir. 2009), resolved that successor liability claims are interests. New GM Br. 75.21 But Chrysler was vacated by the Supreme Court after it became moot during the certiorari process and remanded with instructions to dismiss the appeal as moot. See Ind. State Police Pension Tr. v. Chrysler LLC, 558 U.S. 1087, 130 S.Ct. 1015, 175 L.Ed.2d 614 (2009). The Supreme Court vacated Chrysler pursuant to United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36, 41, 71 S.Ct. 104, 95 L.Ed. 36 (1950), which “prevent[s] a judgment, unreviewable because of mootness, from spawning any legal consequences.” See Russman v. Bd. of Educ. of Enlarged *155City Sch. Dist., 260 F.3d 114, 121-22 n. 2 (2d Cir. 2001) (“[VJacatur eliminates an appellate precedent that would otherwise control decision on a contested question throughout the circuit.”). We had not addressed the issue before Chrysler, and now that case is no longer controlling precedent.22 See 576 F.3d at 124 (“We have never addressed the scope of the language ‘any interest in such property,’ and the statute does not define the term.”).

Rather than formulating a single precise definition for “any interest in such property,” courts have continued to address the phrase “on a case-by-case basis.” In re PBBPC, Inc., 484 B.R. 860, 867 (B.A.P. 1st Cir. 2013). At minimum, the language in § 363(f) permits the sale of property free and clear of in rem interests in the property, such as liens that attach to the property. See In re Trans World Airlines, Inc., 322 F.3d 283, 288 (3d Cir. 2003). But courts have permitted a “broader definition that encompasses other obligations that may flow from ownership of the property.” 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 363.06[1]. Sister courts have held that § 363(f) may be used to bar a variety of successor liability claims that relate to ownership of property: an “interest” might encompass Coal Act obligations otherwise placed upon a