Johnson County Bankruptcy Records

Johnson County, Tennessee bankruptcy records are federal court filings processed through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northeastern Division. This is Johnson County with its county seat in Mountain City -- not the city of Johnson City, which is in Washington County. All bankruptcy petitions from Mountain City and the rest of Johnson County are docketed at the Greeneville courthouse. This page explains how to find those records and what they include.

Federal Court Handling Johnson County Filings

Johnson County falls under the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, specifically the Northeastern Division served by the Greeneville courthouse. The address is 220 West Depot Street, Suite 218, Greeneville, TN 37743. Phone: (423) 787-0113. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed on federal holidays.

Mountain City is in the extreme northeast corner of Tennessee, close to the Virginia border. It is approximately 75 miles northeast of Greeneville. The Greeneville courthouse is the closest staffed federal bankruptcy clerk's office to Johnson County. Attorneys file electronically via the court's CM/ECF system. Residents who want to file without an attorney or who need to review records in person should plan the trip to Greeneville.

The Eastern District of Tennessee Bankruptcy Court website covers all three courthouse locations for the district -- Knoxville, Greeneville, and Chattanooga -- along with local court rules, forms, fee schedules, and filing instructions for pro se filers. Downloads are free. The site also lists trustee contact information and case management resources.

A free phone option is available for quick case lookups. Call the Voice Case Information System at 1-866-222-8029 and press extension 813 for the Eastern District. This automated system runs around the clock, reads case status and discharge information, and requires no account. Have the debtor's name or case number ready before you call.

Local Resources in Mountain City

The Johnson County government office in Mountain City handles local administrative matters and can point you to the circuit court clerk for state civil court records. State civil records from Johnson County are separate from federal bankruptcy filings but can be relevant when researching someone's full financial legal history. The Circuit Court Clerk in Mountain City maintains those state dockets.

The Johnson County government website provides local contact information, office addresses, and information about county departments based in Mountain City.

The local circuit court handles civil cases, including debt collection lawsuits and judgment filings. These can precede or accompany a federal bankruptcy case. Searching both the state and federal systems gives you the most complete view of a debtor's legal situation in Johnson County.

The Tennessee Court Information portal provides free online access to state court dockets from Johnson County's circuit and general sessions courts without a trip to Mountain City.

The Johnson County court records portal allows online access to state civil and criminal case information filed in Johnson County courts.

Remember: state court results and federal bankruptcy results are from completely different systems. A search in one will not show records from the other. You need to search both independently.

Searching PACER for Johnson County Cases

PACER is the federal system for reading and searching bankruptcy court filings. Create a free account at pacer.uscourts.gov. Registration is quick and requires an email address and basic contact information.

After logging in, go to the Eastern District of Tennessee and use the case search form. You can search by debtor name, case number, or Social Security number. Results show the chapter, filing date, and current status. Clicking into a case opens the full docket with every document that has been filed in the proceeding. Documents cost 10 cents per page. Single documents are capped at $3.00. If your quarterly PACER charges stay under $30, those charges are waived automatically.

The PACER Case Locator is a multi-district search tool. It searches every federal district at once, which is useful when you are not certain where someone filed or if you want to check for cases in other states. It returns basic case details and links to the full docket in PACER for each result.

Johnson County cases will normally be in the Eastern District system. If the person previously lived in another state or another Tennessee district, the Case Locator will turn up those older filings without requiring you to search each district one by one.

What Is in a Johnson County Bankruptcy File

The petition names the debtor, gives their address, and states the chapter under which they filed. Attached schedules detail all assets -- real property, vehicles, bank accounts, personal property -- and all debts, broken down into secured, priority, and unsecured categories. Schedule I and J cover income and expenses. A creditor matrix lists the name and address of every party owed money and receiving court notices.

As the case moves forward, more documents are added to the docket. Creditors file proofs of claim asserting what they are owed. The trustee reviews the file and may file objections, set hearings, or submit reports. For Chapter 13 cases, the proposed repayment plan is filed as an early document, and any later changes are noted as plan amendments on the docket.

The 341 meeting of creditors is a scheduled event in every case. The trustee questions the debtor under oath about the petition details, and any creditor may also ask questions. The meeting notice and trustee's subsequent report both appear on the public docket.

Cases that go to completion receive a discharge order, which formally ends the debtor's liability on qualifying debts. Cases that end early get a dismissal order instead. Both are part of the public record. Under 11 U.S.C. Section 107, these documents are public unless a court order seals them, which is rare for routine consumer filings.

Filing Fees and Chapter Options

Chapter 7 carries a $338 filing fee. It is the fastest and simplest consumer bankruptcy type. Most eligible debts are discharged within three to four months. The filer must pass a means test comparing household income to the Tennessee state median. Those who pass the test -- or who have mostly non-consumer debt -- qualify to file under this chapter.

Chapter 13 costs $313 to file. It involves a repayment plan that runs three to five years. The filer keeps their property and pays the trustee each month, who then distributes funds to creditors. People who are behind on mortgage payments often use Chapter 13 to catch up over time and stop a foreclosure without losing their home.

Chapter 11 has a $1,717 filing fee. It is mostly used by businesses but is available to individuals with high debt levels. The process is substantially more complex than consumer chapters and typically requires legal counsel.

Low-income Chapter 7 filers can ask to pay the $338 fee in installments. If income falls below 150% of the federal poverty line, a full fee waiver may be granted. Both options are requested by filing the appropriate form with the initial petition.

Public Records Law and Older Cases

Federal bankruptcy records are public under 11 U.S.C. Section 107. This law makes all papers filed in a bankruptcy case open to the public unless the court specifically orders them sealed. Sealing is uncommon in standard consumer filings. The court must find specific cause to restrict access.

State court records in Johnson County fall under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 10-7-503. This Tennessee public records law gives citizens the right to inspect and copy government records, including those held by county court clerks, unless a specific exemption applies.

Older Johnson County bankruptcy cases that have been retired from PACER are stored at the National Archives. The Southeast Region facility in Atlanta handles Tennessee federal court archives. Requests take several weeks and may involve copying fees for paper records. Contact the Greeneville clerk's office if you are not sure whether a case is still in PACER or has been transferred to NARA.

Nearby Counties

Johnson County is in the far northeast corner of Tennessee and borders several counties also served by the Eastern District federal court.