A motion is a document filed with a court requesting an order. Motions can be filed for all sorts of reasons including requests to dismiss Chapter 13 cases. In Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases motions to dismiss are usually filed by the trustee. A trustee may file this type of motion for several different reasons. The most common reasons a trustee may file a motion to dismiss are because the debtor failed to provide paperwork or because they are behind on the payments due under the plan. If the debtor, or his attorney, is paying attention these types of motions seldom result in the case being dismissed. The debtor simply needs to provide the documents requested by the trustee or cure the plan arrears through payments or a plan modification, and the trustee will usually withdraw the motion to dismiss.
In some districts the Chapter 13 trustees file motions to dismiss when there is a delay in confirmation of the plan. In the Northern District of Texas these motions are called “Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Timely Confirm” and are filed if confirmation is continued past the original date of the confirmation hearing. These motions are a mechanism for preventing delay in a case, and are intended to provide the debtor’s bankruptcy attorney motivation in resolving confirmation issues.
Motions to dismiss are filed for many different reasons. It is important to understand that a motion is a request that the court order something be done. Motions can be resolved by meeting the request in the motion or sometimes by and agreement called an agreed order. If a motion to dismiss is filed and the issue cannot be resolved by agreement with the party that filed the motion, then the matter will be decided by a judge.