Hansmeier v. McDermott, No. 15-6035 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDebtor appeals the bankruptcy court's order converting his chapter 13 case to chapter 7. The BAP concluded that the bankruptcy court did not err by refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing on the United States Trustee's motion. The BAP also concluded that even if debtor had not waived his challenges, the bankruptcy court's findings are not clearly erroneous. In this case, the bankruptcy court's findings are amply supported by the facts set forth in the United States Trustee's verified motion. The BAP agreed with the bankruptcy court's findings that there was sufficient cause to convert the chapter 13 case to chapter 7. The bankruptcy court found that, inter alia, debtor had exhibited a serious and studied disregard for the orderly process of justice and a relentless willingness to lie; he had intentionally given inconsistent testimony and failed to provide responsive information; he had filed his bankruptcy petition in an attempt to avoid having to disclose financial information; and he failed to disclose assets on bankruptcy schedules. Accordingly, the BAP affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Nail, Author, with Schermer and Shodeen, Bankruptcy Judges] Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. The Bankruptcy Court did not abuse its discretion in granting the trustee's motion to convert the case from a chapter 13 to a chapter 7; as there were no issues of material fact concerning conversion, a hearing was not required; the evidence fully supported the court's decision to convert the case as debtor had failed to submit a confirmable chapter 13 plan, had made fraudulent and incomplete representations to mislead the court and had unfairly manipulated the bankruptcy code to avoid having to disclose financial information in state court proceedings.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.