Meet the New Trustee

At a mere 37 years old, Kara Luana West was appointed Chapter 13 and Chapter 12 Standing Trustee for the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Tennessee on January 1, 2015. Ms. West has very large shoes to fill as she is replacing long-standing, retiring Trustee C. Kenneth Still. The offices of the Trustee are in the heart of beautiful downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Ms. West first joined the Chapter 13 world in 2010 serving as Staff Attorney for Trustee. The very accomplished Ms. West not only received a J.D. from the University of Tennessee, College of Law, but received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting as a result of her undergraduate studies. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ms. West practiced both corporate and commercial law at Husch Blackwell LLP in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

She worked as a senior financial auditor with Arthur Andersen, LLP and later went on to work as an internal auditor and manager of financial receipts for large insurance companies.

Ms. West is an active member of the Tennessee Society of CPAs and serves as Treasurer of The Justices Brock-Cooper American Inns of Court.

In her spare time she volunteers as a Board Member of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, Inc., serving as Chair of various committees since 2010.

In addition, her husband, Matthew Hill, is an incredible cook and they both love to entertain – just in case you are thinking of heading to Chattanooga. They spend time doting over their five nieces and nephews as well as their scruffy terrier named Mr. Mustache.

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From the Editor – Avoidance

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By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Tax foreclosure sale avoided as preference. Affirming the District and Bankruptcy Courts, at 571 B.R. 662 and 588 B.R. 394, the Third Circuit held that the Chapter 13 debtors could avoid a pre-petition tax foreclosure sale as a preferential transfer. The township held a properly noticed tax sale at public auction, which resulted...

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Meet a New Trustee

The Academy

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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An over-median Chapter 13 debtor, in calculating projected disposable income, may deduct the higher of the projected plan payment for secured debts or the IRS allowance, but the debtor may not deduct the higher payment under the original contract.

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From the Editor

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By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Confirmation - Bankruptcy court could not sua sponte object to confirmation. Distinguishing between “self-executing” provisions of the Code and those sections that were not “self-executing,” and discussing Espinosa’s impact on that distinction, District Court held that the bankruptcy court could not sua sponte object to confirmation based on the above- median...

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Critical Case Comment–Should’a Returned the Car

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Tammy Branson, Robert B. Branson

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The 2022 Justice Department and Department of Education collaboration introduced new bankruptcy guidelines, notably easing the "undue hardship" exception for discharging student loans, marking a departure from the stringent "Brunner Test" requirements. Here the Bransons give us a look at the progress being made in discharging student loans.

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James M. Davis

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The amendments to the Bankruptcy Rules that took effect on December 1, 2024, are primarily stylistic, but they do include a few substantive changes. More controversial changes are in the pipeline for December 2025, however, with significant changes to Rule 3002.1 proposed.

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2020 Vision

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By Jan Sensenich, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Vermont I think it was in junior high school when I first started wearing glasses. I remember not liking the idea of having to wear glasses. I thought I could see just fine. As far as I knew, I was seeing what I needed to see. But I also...

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