Abstract
This Article discusses the current state of the Chapter 13 dismissal circuit split, providing an overview of 1307(b) and other relevant sections of the Bankruptcy Code, illustrative pre Marrama case law on either side of the divide, and the Marrama decision itself. This Part examines Marrama’s role in shifting the debate from one based primarily on 1307’s text to that of the bankruptcy courts’ general powers to sanction bad faith conduct, as well as lower courts’ responses to that decision. Part III examines Law, paying special attention to the Court’s discussion of the limitations placed on bankruptcy courts’ statutory and inherent powers to police bad faith and abuse of the bankruptcy process. Lastly, Part IV details Law’s implications for the Chapter 13 dismissal context, concluding that the Supreme Court’s decision in Law indicates that the minority position’s assertion that 1307(b) is limited by an extra-statutory bad faith exception is in violation of the constraints imposed by the Bankruptcy Code on bankruptcy courts’ abilities to rout out bad faith.
Recommended Citation
Daniel J. Sheffner,
The Chapter 13 Debtor's Absolute Right to Dismiss,
63 Clev. St. L. Rev.
833
(2015)
available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol63/iss4/8