HOME PAGE

THE HONORABLE ROBERT E. BRAUER
FEDERAL BANKRUPTCY JUDGE (RETIRED)

Robert E. Brauer, a retired Federal Bankruptcy Judge, died Tuesday (June 8, 2004) of heart   complications at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Mo. He was 81 and a resident of Bonne Terre [St. Francois County], Mo. He had lived in St. Louis.

Judge Brauer was born in Staunton, Ill. After graduating from high school, he entered the Air Force in 1942 and served as a navigator on a B-29 based in Guam.

After World War II, Judge Brauer attended Washington University, where he earned a bachelor's degree and later a degree in law.

Judge Brauer was licensed to practice law in Missouri and Illinois. He began his law career with the firm of Mattingly, Boss and Richards. In October 1953, Judge Brauer became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.

In 1960, Judge Brauer joined the law firm of Rassieur, Long and Yawitz in St. Louis. He became a partner of the firm a year later.

Judge Brauer was appointed as referee in bankruptcy for the Eastern and Western districts in Missouri in 1961.

Judge Brauer served as a federal bankruptcy judge in Missouri for more than 25 years. Among his many cases involved the land that had occupied the Spanish Pavilion. The Pavilion was brought to St. Louis from the World's Fair in New York by Mayor Alfonso J. Cervantes. Operators of attraction went bankrupt. Judge Brauer presided over several years of its financial reorganization and the rebirth of the site, where the Marriott Pavilion Hotel now stands.

In August 1975, Judge Brauer entered a "non-dischargeable judgment" for $5,200 against a local couple who went on spending spree six months prior to filing for personal bankruptcy. Judge Brauer in effect ruled that, if a credit card concern can prove that a card holder incurred debts with no intention of repaying, the debt could not be cleared through the filing of bankruptcy. The "credit card case" got as much publicity in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal as it did in the local media.

In 1976, Judge Brauer ruled that the Teamsters Local 600 could be considered "a person" under federal bankruptcy law and could file for bankruptcy. The ruling, the first of its kind, was approved by a federal appeals court.

Judge Brauer later held that a $5.6 million judgment against the local by area trucking companies could not be forgiven in bankruptcy because the local members used violence and intimidation to shut down the carriers during a six-week wildcat strike in 1970.

Judge Brauer retired in 1986 and moved to Bonne Terre [Mockingbird Hill Lane] , where he enjoyed gardening and travel.

Visitation is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at C.Z. Boyer and Son Funeral Home, 1116 North Desloge Drive in Desloge, Mo. A funeral service immediately follows visitation at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. Francois Memorial Park in Desloge.

Among survivors are his wife, Billie Baker Brauer; a sister, Ruth Ann Ficker of Jerseyville; a brother, Dean Brauer of Peoria, Ill.; and two stepdaughters, Joann Robertson of Festus and Jackie McFarland of Park Hills, Mo.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, Memorial Processing Center, 5375 Southwest Seventh Street, Topeka, Kan. 66606; or to Zion Lutheran Church, 311 South Elm Street, Staunton, Ill. 62088.

[P.D., St. Louis, 6/10/04]

 

HOME PAGE



This page was updated: Friday, 23-Feb-2024 12:38:24 MST
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000 - 2024 MOGenWeb

The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to MOGenWeb to make it available online.