A court order as to which the time to appeal, petition for certiorari, or move for reargument or rehearing has expired and as to which no appeal, petition for certiorari, or other proceedings for reargument or rehearing is pending.
Parties affected by a bankruptcy court order typically wait until the order becomes a final order before acting on the order out of concern that the order might be reversed, vacated, or modified by an appellate court or by the bankruptcy court itself. Sometimes, however, the parties proceed even though an order has not become final, in the hope of successfully invoking the Mootness Doctrine.
See also Mootness Doctrine.