In Re: Ronald Joseph Tenore

Background

Ronald Joseph Tenore appealed from a December 12, 2024 order by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. That order dismissed his Chapter 13 bankruptcy case for cause under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(c), on a motion by Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Thomas C. Frost.

Tenore filed his bankruptcy petition on September 30, 2024. The Bankruptcy Court’s clerk issued a deficiency notice the same day, identifying missing documents and scheduling a hearing to consider dismissal. Tenore also did not attend the required meeting of creditors scheduled for October 31, 2024.

On November 14, 2024, the Trustee moved to dismiss the case. The motion identified several alleged failures, including failure to file required bankruptcy documents, a credit-counseling certificate, and a Chapter 13 plan; failure to attend the creditors’ meeting; failure to begin plan payments; failure to file a certification concerning domestic-support obligations; and failure to provide federal and state tax returns or refunds.

Tenore filed some documents on December 3, 2024, one day before the scheduled hearing. Those filings included several schedules, a statement of financial affairs, a statement of monthly income, and a document labeled as a Chapter 13 plan. The Bankruptcy Court held a brief videoconference hearing on December 4. Tenore did not participate. He later said that he joined the videoconference but could not participate because of computer-audio problems. The Bankruptcy Court granted the Trustee’s motion, then entered its written dismissal order on December 12.

Arguments on Appeal

Tenore argued that the Bankruptcy Court should not have ruled without allowing him to participate in the hearing. He also argued that he had cured the problems by filing documents the day before the hearing.

The District Court reviewed the Bankruptcy Court’s dismissal-for-cause decision for abuse of discretion. That standard asks whether the decision was reasonable and within the range of permissible decisions, rather than whether the District Court would have made the same decision.

Court’s Analysis

The District Court held that the Bankruptcy Court did not abuse its discretion by deciding the motion without Tenore’s participation in a formal hearing. Tenore had received notice of the filing deficiencies nearly three months before the hearing and had received the Trustee’s dismissal motion about three weeks before it. He had an opportunity to respond in writing and did not identify facts or arguments that he could have raised orally but could not have submitted in writing.

The District Court also held that Tenore’s late filings did not eliminate the grounds for dismissal. The Bankruptcy Court’s written order identified several independent failures:

- Tenore did not timely file a Chapter 13 plan. He filed the document more than two months after filing his petition, and the document was incomplete and did not provide proposed monthly payment amounts. - Tenore did not begin making Chapter 13 plan payments. - Tenore did not attend the required meeting of creditors. - Tenore did not file the required statement of monthly income and disposable income. - Tenore did not file the required certification concerning domestic-support obligations. - Tenore did not provide the Trustee with the required federal and state income-tax returns or transcripts.

The court explained that any one of several failures could support dismissal for cause under § 1307(c), and that the failures collectively gave the Bankruptcy Court a more than reasonable basis for dismissal. The court also noted that Tenore’s pro se status did not excuse noncompliance with bankruptcy rules.

Disposition

The District Court affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s December 12, 2024 order. It directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.