Michael P Vaughn

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA
IN RE:
Michael P. Vaughn,
Debtor
Chapter 13
Bankruptcy No. 26-00558
OPINION AND ORDER ON M OTION TO T RANSFER OR DISMISS
This matter came before the Court for a telephonic hearing on Fairfax State
Savings Bank’s (“Movant”) Motion to Transfer or Dismiss Pursuant to Fed. R.
Bankr. P. 1014(a)(2) (Doc. 16). Attorney Gina L. Kramer appeared for Debtor.
Attorney Matthew T. Cronin appeared for Fairfax State Savings Bank. The Court
heard argument and took the matter under advisement. This is a core proceeding
under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2).
I. 	BACKGROUND/STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Movant filed a Motion to Transfer or Dismiss this bankruptcy proceeding
asking the Court to dismiss or transfer the case from the Northern District of Iowa
to the Southern District of Iowa. Movant alleges that venue is improper in the
Northern District of Iowa under 28 U.S.C. § 1408(1) because the Debtor has resided
in Johnson County, located in the Southern District of Iowa, for longer than 180 days
preceding the filing of his Petition. Debtor argued that the Northern District of Iowa,
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headquartered in Cedar Rapids, is a much more convenient and less expensive place
to conduct the case for all parties.
After reviewing the record and considering the parties’ arguments, the Court
concludes that venue is improper in the Northern District of Iowa under 28 U.S.C. §
1408(1). Thus, the case should be transferred to the Southern District of Iowa
pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1014(a)(2).
II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Debtor filed his Petition on June 10, 2026, in the Northern District of Iowa.
He currently resides at 1853 Lake Manor Rd Solon, Iowa, 52333 in Johnson County
and has owned the property since July 2017. Johnson County, Iowa is in the Southern
District of Iowa. Debtor checked the box on his Petition stating he filed the above-
captioned matter in the Northern District of Iowa because he has lived in this district
over “the last 180 days before filing this petition.” Movant, Fairfax State Savings
Bank, is a creditor in the above-captioned matter and filed a Motion to Transfer or
Dismiss on June 25, 2026.
The Northern District of Iowa is indisputably the more convenient and cost-
effective location for the case. The Cedar Rapids courthouse is closer to the Debtor,
Debtor’s attorney, Fairfax State Savings Bank, and its attorney. Debtor resides at
1853 Lake Manor Road in Solon, Iowa—less than twenty miles from the courthouse
in the Northern District of Iowa. It is, however, in Johnson County and lies within
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the Southern District of Iowa. The nearest Southern District Courthouse is in
Davenport—over sixty miles away from the Debtor and Debtor’s counsel, eighty
miles from Fairfax, and 170 miles from the Bank’s counsel in Des Moines. Cedar
Rapids is only seventeen miles from Fairfax and also closer to the Bank’s counsel.
After Debtor’s attorney recited these facts and asked what the rationale for moving
the case could be, the Bank’s attorney had no response. The Court notes that in other
cases, like this one, the bank or its attorney appear to simply want to make things
harder for the debtor.
III. 	DISCUSSION
Venue in a bankruptcy case is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1408(1). Under that
section, a bankruptcy case may be commenced in the district where the debtor’s
domicile, residence, principal place of business, or principal assets were located for
the 180 days immediately preceding the filing of the petition. 28 U.S.C. § 1408(1).
This Court’s general practice is to retain improperly venued cases absent an
objection from an opposing party. Ewert v. United States Dep’t of Educ. (In re
Ewert), No. 23-00280, 2024 Bankr. LEXIS 695, at *2–3 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa Mar. 18,
2024). However, when a party timely objects to improper venue, the Court lacks
authority to retain the case. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1014(a)(2); Bryan v. Land (In re
Land), 215 B.R. 398, 403 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 1997). Most creditors do not object to venue
when, like here, all factors related to convenience and cost savings for all parties
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favor venue in this district. The Bank or its attorney here apparently do not share that
view and stand on their “venue rights.” The venue statute, as written, gives them this
right despite all reasonable considerations to the contrary. Unless and until Congress
changes the statute, such positions will prevail against common sense. The court has
two available remedies when venue is improper: dismissal or transfer. Fed. R. Bankr.
P. 1014(a)(2).
Although Debtor represented in his petition that he had resided in the Northern
District during the 180 days preceding the filing, the evidence presently before the
Court indicates that his residence is located in the Southern District. Because Debtor
did not reside in the Northern District for the longer portion of the 180-day period
preceding the petition date, venue is technically improper under 28 U.S.C. § 1408.
Accordingly, the Court must either dismiss the case or transfer it to the Southern
District of Iowa. Transfer is the appropriate remedy here. Movant timely challenged
venue, and the record establishes that venue is proper in the Southern District of
Iowa. Accordingly, the Court will transfer this case to the Southern District of Iowa
under Rule 1014(a)(2).
IV. 	CONCLUSION/ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that Movant’s Motion to Transfer to the Southern District
of Iowa is GRANTED.
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Ordered:
Thad J. Collins
Chief Bankruptcy Judge
August 5, 2026
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