Dismissal of a Chapter 13 case; Whether the debtor had the right to have her case dismissed post-conversion to a Chapter 7; 11 USC § 1307; Whether the debtor orally requested dismissal before the case was converted

[This appeal was from the Bankr WD-MI.] The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) held that the debtor falsely claimed she had orally requested the bankruptcy court to dismiss her Chapter 13 case before it was converted to a Chapter 7, and that she had no “absolute right” to dismiss her case post-conversion. The Chapter 13 trustee moved for summary judgment to convert the debtor’s case to a Chapter 7 or to dismiss the case with a bar to refiling. The debtor requested that the motion be denied so she could confirm her proposed Chapter 13 plan. After a hearing (the Conversion Hearing), while the matter was still pending, the debtor filed an amended Chapter 13 petition and schedules. The bankruptcy court converted the case to a Chapter 7 and appointed a Chapter 7 trustee. Although the debtor moved for reconsideration of the conversion order based on alleged creditor fraud, “she did not assert that she had requested dismissal prior to conversion.” The bankruptcy court denied reconsideration. The debtor then filed a series of motions regarding her Chapter 7 plan. More than two years after conversion, she filed a pro se motion requesting that the bankruptcy court set aside the conversion, for the first time asserting that she had made an oral request to dismiss her Chapter 13 case during the Conversion Hearing. The bankruptcy court requested additional information and legal authority, which she failed to provide. The bankruptcy court denied her motion, ruling that she had failed to adequately support her assertions, and that her actions were inconsistent with having voluntarily requested a dismissal of the Chapter 13 case. The BAP reviewed whether the debtor orally requested that her Chapter 13 case be dismissed before conversion. After “thoroughly examin[ing]” the Conversion Hearing transcript, it found “that assertion false.” The transcript showed the bankruptcy court had presented alternative ways to proceed, but that she “repeatedly insisted that, against the advice of counsel, she wanted to continue in her chapter 13 case.” Additionally, the record showed she amended her Chapter 13 plan and schedules, “[a]nd she did not file a motion to dismiss pursuant to” § 1307. The court noted that § 1307(b) “provides an absolute right for a debtor to dismiss her chapter 13 case, so long as two conditions are met. The debtor must REQUEST dismissal, and she must do so BEFORE the case is converted.” Thus, § 1307 did not apply here. Affirmed.