Eastern District of Missouri Has New Trustee

Diana Daugherty received her B.S. in Finance from St. Louis University in 1984 and graduated from St. Louis University Law School in 1987. She clerked at the Missouri Court of Appeals for three years and held the position of staff attorney for John V. LaBarge, Jr., the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1980 to 2017. Diana was appointed Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Missouri on March 1, 2017, following Mr. LaBarge’s retirement.

Daugherty has been married to Jerry Daugherty for 27 years. They spent their first anniversary at the 1990 NACTT conference in Baltimore. They have two boys, one in his fourth year at Mizzou and one finishing his senior year in high school. They live in an area of the City of St. Louis that is like a small town in the big city and enjoy helping with and attending neighborhood events. Life would not be complete without at least one beach vacation a year.

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From the Editor – Dismissal

August 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Undistributed funds returned to debtor upon dismissal. Under § 1327(b)’s vesting requirement, unless a confirmed plan provides otherwise, any undistributed funds held by the trustee at dismissal of the case must be returned to the debtor. Although not necessary to rely on § 347(b)(3), the conclusion on effect of vesting at confirmation was...

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Cathy Moran

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Measuring Success in Chapter 13: Successful Dismissals and Conversions

Honorable Brian D. Lynch

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A. Introduction When should we regard dismissal or conversion of a chapter 13 as an unsuccessful bankruptcy? The arguments are familiar.Chapter 13 is the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to stop foreclosures, repossessions, and garnishments by creditors.Desperate debtors can file a chapter 13 case without schedules, statements, or a plan and buy themselves a stay for a short period. And...

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Critical Case Comment – Separate Class Classy Option for Student Loans

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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In some instances, this case could be a real game-changer for dealing with student loans. Chapter 13 plan may classify student loans in a separate class!

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Molly Simons

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Consider if you will that your client has just filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. They have intelligently chosen to surrender a luxury item - a boat or 4-wheeler or even that extra vehicle they don’t need. Because the creditor would like to preserve the value of the collateral by obtaining possession quickly, they file a Motion for Relief shortly after...

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From the Editor

March 31, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Lien Modification - Modification of mortgage on mixed-use property. Reviewing the split of authority on whether a Chapter 13 debtor may modify a mortgage on property used for both business and residential purposes and when the use determination is made, the bankruptcy court adopted the filing date as the appropriate time...

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