CA1: BK courts have discretion to convert petitions

In re Robert Louis Marrama, No. 04-9009, affirms the decision of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel which affirmed the Bankruptcy court’s denial of a “petition to convert these proceedings from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13, based on its determination that Marrama had attempted to conceal assets from creditors.”  The First Concludes that “[11 USC] § 706(a) confers ... discretion upon the bankruptcy court to forfend against “bad faith” conversions to chapter 13.”  Then it concludes that the Bankruptcy Court’s finding that the debtor, acted in bad faith were not clear error.