Contact: John Hartgen
703-894-5935
NOVEMBER CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS DROP 13
PERCENT FROM OCTOBER
December 1, 2010,
class='Apple-converted-space'> Alexandria, Va. -
U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings
class='Apple-converted-space'> totaled
class='Apple-converted-space'> 114,587 nationwide during
November, a 13.3 percent drop from
class='Apple-converted-space'> the
class='Apple-converted-space'> 132,173
class='Apple-converted-space'> total consumer filings
class='Apple-converted-space'> recorded in October,
according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data
from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). While the November
consumer filings represented a decrease from the previous month, they
represented a 2.2 percent increase from the November 2009 total of
112,152. Chapter 13
filings constituted 29.6 percent of all consumer cases in November, a
slight decrease from October.
'The drop in consumer filings from October is perhaps a positive step
that the deleveraging of the U.S. consumer may be underway, after years
of expanding consumer debt,' said ABI Executive Director
class='Apple-converted-space'> Samuel J. Gerdano.
'Still, we anticipate that there will be nearly 1.6 million consumer
bankruptcy filings by year end.'
###
ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization
dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency.
ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than
12,600 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders,
turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a
forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional
information on ABI, visit
class='Apple-converted-space'>
href='http://www.abiworld.org/' target='_blank'>www.abiworld.org.
For additional conference information, visit
title='blocked::http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'
target='_blank'>http://www.abiworld.org/
NBKRC is an online research center that offers subscribers access to
up-to-date research and statistics on bankruptcy filings. The database
contains complete information dating back to 1995. For more information
on NBKRC, please visit
target='_blank'>http://www.nbkrc.com.
*Definitions from
class='Apple-converted-space'> Bankruptcy Overview:
Issues, Law and Policy, by the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is available to both
individual and business debtors. Its purpose is to achieve a fair
distribution to creditors of the debtor's available non-exempt
property. Unsecured debts not reaffirmed are discharged, providing
a fresh financial start.
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for both
business and consumer debtors. Its purpose is to rehabilitate a business
as a going concern or reorganize an individual's finances through a
court-approved reorganization plan.
Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is designed to give
special debt relief to a family farmer with regular income from
farming.
Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an
individual with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific
amounts; it is typically used to budget some of the debtor's future
earnings under a plan through which unsecured creditors are paid in
whole or in part.