Channel v. Channel (In Re Channel)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MERRITT S. DEITZ, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge.

The perfect justification for the doctrine of collateral estoppel is made simply by reciting the facts of this case.

Floyd and Dorothy Channel were divorced in Missouri in 1981. The decree of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County dissolving the marriage is part of this record. It provides concisely that “maintenance is waived by both parties” and that Dorothy Channel was to receive “the sum of $13,-489.02 which is her one-half share of the net proceeds of the sale of the family home...”

Obligations that arise out of a distribution of…