Bankruptcy in the Western District of Missouri
Quick answer. Between 1970 and 2026, the searchable federal record shows 126,985 bankruptcy cases filed in the Western District of Missouri (the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri). Where the filing chapter is recorded, the most common is Chapter 7. This page summarizes what the public data shows about filing here - the court, the chapters, the outcomes, and how the district compares nationally. The searchable record is a partial index of historical filings -- coverage is much deeper for recent decades than early ones -- so the count above reflects what is indexed, not the court's lifetime filing volume.
The court
The Western District of Missouri is served by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri. The court sits principally in Kansas City, Missouri, and hears cases across the district's divisions, including Springfield, Joplin, Jefferson City, and St. Joseph.
Filings by year
The table below counts every case in the searchable record for this district by filing year (earlier decades aggregated). Filing dates are recorded on nearly all indexed cases, so this is the page's primary volume picture.
| Year | Filings in the searchable record |
|---|---|
| 1970-1979 | 5 |
| 1981-1989 | 501 |
| 1990-1999 | 17,329 |
| 2000-2009 | 67,400 |
| 2010 | 2,650 |
| 2011 | 1,784 |
| 2012 | 1,523 |
| 2013 | 1,820 |
| 2014 | 3,072 |
| 2015 | 3,913 |
| 2016 | 3,018 |
| 2017 | 2,308 |
| 2018 | 5,016 |
| 2019 | 5,130 |
| 2020 | 2,969 |
| 2021 | 1,345 |
| 2022 | 1,551 |
| 2023 | 1,690 |
| 2024 | 1,493 |
| 2025 | 2,177 |
| 2026 | 291 |
| All years | 126,985 |
Chapter breakdown, where recorded (partial)
Coverage note: a filing chapter is recorded for 31.6% of the Western District of Missouri cases in this dataset (40,179 of 126,985); the remainder are counted in the total but not attributed to a chapter, so the per-chapter figures below are floors, not the full picture.
| Year | Ch. 7 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Chapter recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 823 | 4 | 1 | 774 | 1,602 |
| 2012 | 691 | 7 | - | 638 | 1,336 |
| 2013 | 876 | 7 | - | 636 | 1,519 |
| 2014 | 876 | 5 | 1 | 693 | 1,575 |
| 2015 | 848 | 5 | - | 673 | 1,526 |
| 2016 | 775 | 4 | - | 780 | 1,559 |
| 2017 | 746 | 4 | 1 | 847 | 1,598 |
| 2018 | 688 | 3 | - | 846 | 1,537 |
| 2019 | 621 | 7 | - | 934 | 1,562 |
| 2020 | 496 | 3 | 1 | 620 | 1,120 |
| 2021 | 381 | 4 | - | 460 | 845 |
| 2022 | 256 | 3 | 1 | 597 | 857 |
| 2023 | 297 | 6 | 2 | 711 | 1,016 |
| 2024 | 387 | 7 | - | 749 | 1,143 |
| 2025 | 462 | 33 | - | 870 | 1,365 |
| 2026 | 64 | 5 | - | 129 | 198 |
*Years before 2011 are omitted from this breakdown (chapter coding is sparsest there); the full-volume table above covers all years.*
Among cases with a recorded chapter, Chapter 7 filings fell between 2010-2015 (5,141 recorded) and 2019-2024 (2,438 recorded), and Chapter 13 filings held roughly steady over the same windows (4,103 vs 4,071). These comparisons use recorded-chapter counts only.
Judges
The following judges appear on Chapter 11 cases in the Western District of Missouri in the enriched dataset, with the number of cases on which each is recorded:
| Judge | Ch. 11 cases (recorded) |
|---|---|
| Data pending | - |
Data pending. The Chapter 11 enrichment dataset has not yet reached this district (0 enriched rows as of 2026-07-04); a judge roster with recorded case counts will be added when enrichment coverage lands. The request is queued. How to read these counts (once populated). Names are matched as they appear in court records. Surname collisions and punctuation or middle-initial variants can split or merge a single person's cases; counts cover only cases with a recorded judge and are indicative, not a docket census.
Chapter 11 outcomes
The searchable record shows 152 Chapter 11 cases with a recorded chapter in the Western District of Missouri. In the deeper court-record dataset, 172 Chapter 11 cases are tracked; 112 carry a recorded closing date (discharge, dismissal, or termination) and 60 do not (of the 172 deep-tracked Chapter 11 cases). Judge-level Chapter 11 detail is data pending (above).
What the deeper record shows (this district only)
Beyond the national index, the Open Bankruptcy Project holds a deeper court-record dataset for the Western District of Missouri: 42,275 cases (filings 1984-2026), with a recorded final disposition on 37,363 of them. No other public source assembles these outcome figures for this district.
Chapter 13 outcomes. Of the 17,237 Chapter 13 cases with a recorded disposition (of 20,900 tracked), 9,527 (55.3%) ended in discharge and 7,260 (42.1%) were dismissed. The most common recorded dismissal reasons: dismissed for failure to make plan payments (3,048); dismissed for other reason (2,648); dismissed for failure to pay filing fee (943).
Chapter 7 outcomes. Of the 20,003 Chapter 7 cases with a recorded disposition (of 20,441 tracked), 19,485 (97.4%) ended in discharge.
How long cases take. Median time from filing to recorded case outcome: 102 days for Chapter 7 (measured on 20,048 cases with both dates) and 1,238 days (about 3.4 years) for Chapter 13 (measured on 17,389 cases) -- consistent with Chapter 13's 3-to-5-year plan structure.
Trustees. A trustee is recorded on 1,330 cases (3.1% of the deep dataset -- a small, non-random slice, so these are recorded-count floors, not caseload totals). Most-recorded: Fink, Richard V (1,084 cases); Stanton, Janice E. (68 cases); Strauss, Bruce E. (50 cases); Johnson, Eric L. (47 cases); Rouse, Norman (33 cases). Name variants (punctuation, middle initials) were merged before counting; surname collisions remain possible.
Debtor attorneys. An attorney surname is recorded on 41,679 cases (98.6% of the deep dataset). Filing work is concentrated: the ten most-recorded surnames account for 64.7% of those 41,679 attorney-recorded cases. (Surnames can group multiple attorneys or a firm's filers; read as concentration, not individual counts.)
Chapter 13 outcomes (FJC 2008-2024)
Chapter 13 outcome data for the Western District of Missouri, from the FJC Integrated Database (FY 2008-2024; denominator = the 46,548 Chapter 13 cases filed in this district in that window):
| 46,548 | 43.5% | 56.5% | 21,878 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch. 13 cases filed | Dismissal rate | Discharge rate | Discharges granted |
Of 46,548 Chapter 13 cases filed here between 2008 and 2024, 21,878 ended in a discharge. That dismissal rate is below the national average. Section 1328(f) bars a Chapter 13 discharge for debtors who received a prior discharge within specified look-back periods; a prior case that was dismissed rather than discharged does not trigger the 1328(f) bar, though other limits (like Section 109(g)) can apply. Check a specific case with the eligibility checker, or read the plain-language 1328(f) explainer.
How this district compares
Nationally, the FJC Integrated Database of about 8 million bankruptcy terminations analyzed for 2008-2024 shows an overall discharge rate of 58.3% and a dismissal rate of 41.7% (of the 8M analyzed terminations). Outcomes vary sharply by representation: pro-se Chapter 13 debtors reach discharge about 2.9% of the time versus roughly 47% for represented Chapter 13 debtors (FJC 2008-2024). In the FJC data for this district specifically, 43.5% of the 46,548 Chapter 13 cases filed in the Western District of Missouri in FY2008-2024 were dismissed, and 3.8% of those Chapter 13 filings were pro se (denominator: the district's 46,548 FJC-analyzed Chapter 13 filings). The district's deeper court-record dataset points the same way: 42.1% of its 17,237 disposition-recorded Chapter 13 cases were dismissed.
Frequently asked questions
Which court handles bankruptcy in the Western District of Missouri? The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri handles federal bankruptcy filings for the district. The court sits principally in Kansas City, Missouri, and hears cases across the district's divisions, including Springfield, Joplin, Jefferson City, and St. Joseph.
What chapters do people file here? Across the searchable record, filings appear under Chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13. Where a chapter is recorded, Chapter 7 is the most common in the Western District of Missouri. Chapter 7 (liquidation) and Chapter 13 (individual repayment plan) are the most common nationwide; Chapter 11 (reorganization) is used mainly by businesses and higher-debt individuals; Chapter 12 is for family farmers and fishermen.
How long does bankruptcy take in the Western District of Missouri? In this district's deeper court records, the median time from filing to a recorded case outcome is 102 days for Chapter 7 (of 20,048 measured cases) and 1,238 days for Chapter 13 (of 17,389 measured cases), reflecting Chapter 13's multi-year repayment plan.
How does the Western District of Missouri compare to the rest of the country? National outcome rates come from the FJC dataset described above (8M terminations, 2008-2024). In the FJC data for this district specifically, 43.5% of the 46,548 Chapter 13 cases filed in the Western District of Missouri in FY2008-2024 were dismissed, and 3.8% of those Chapter 13 filings were pro se (denominator: the district's 46,548 FJC-analyzed Chapter 13 filings).
Where can I find the judges and trustees for this district? See the judges directory and trustees directory, and the Missouri overview for state-level context.
Data and methodology
- Case counts are of the searchable federal record (a national index of about 9.8 million
cases), filtered to the Western District of Missouri (source district code mowbk). This is a count of records in that index, not an official court statistic.
- Chapter is recorded for 31.6% of these cases (40,179 of 126,985); per-chapter
counts are floors. An additional 734 records are adversary-proceeding entries with a recorded "AP" code; they are included in the total but excluded from the chapter table.
- Judges and enriched Chapter 11 status come from an enriched dataset of Chapter 11 cases; that
dataset has not yet reached this district (data pending; enrichment queued 2026-07-04).
- Deep-district figures (dispositions, timelines, trustees, attorneys) come from the Open
Bankruptcy Project's court-record dataset for this district (42,275 cases); each figure states its own denominator, and trustee/attorney counts are recorded-count floors with name-variant merging applied.
- National rates (58.3% / 41.7%, and the pro-se gap) are from the **FJC Integrated Database,
~8 million terminations analyzed 2008-2024** - the baseline for all rates on this page. The district-specific FJC figures (Chapter 13 dismissal and pro-se rates) use the district's own FJC-analyzed Chapter 13 filings as their denominator, as stated inline. The 9.8M figure is the size of the searchable index only and is never used to compute a rate.
- Names: individual debtor names are reduced to initials; business names are kept. This page
reports aggregates only; trustees and attorneys are named in their public professional roles with recorded-count caveats.
- As of: 2026-07-04. Data: FJC Integrated Database; the Open Bankruptcy Project searchable
index; CourtListener-derived enrichment. A project of the Open Bankruptcy Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. General information only, not legal advice.
Federal Rules Committee
This research supports two suggestions now before the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules: Suggestion 26-BK-3 and Suggestion 26-BK-5
Proposing automated Section 1328(f) discharge bar screening and Rule 9037 SSN redaction in federal bankruptcy courts