Contact:
Hartgen
(703) 739-0800
jhartgen@abiworld.org
LOW FILING
LEVELS NOT PROOF THAT NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW IS WORKING AS INTENDED,
ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI POLL
size='3'>July 21, 2006, Alexandria, Va.
size='3'>— More than three-quarters of respondents to a recent
American Bankruptcy Institute online poll disagreed that supporters of
the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
(BAPCPA) can validly claim that the new law is working as intended
because bankruptcy filings are now at their lowest levels since the
mid-1980s. Sixty-six percent “strongly disagreed” while an
additional 11 percent of respondents “disagreed somewhat”
that the lower number of filings showed that BAPCPA was working as
intended.
Conversely, only 18 percent of
respondents agreed that BAPCPA’s supporters could validly claim
that the new law is working as intended as a result of the decrease in
bankruptcy filings. Eleven percent “agreed somewhat,” while
7 percent “agreed strongly.” Five percent of the respondents
did not know or had no opinion on the issue.
The poll is based
on
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>bankruptcy courts statistics showing that bankruptcy filings
have dropped off dramatically since the implementation of BAPCPA on Oct.
17, 2005. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that
filings during the first calendar year quarter of 2006 (Jan. 1-March 31,
2006) fell to 116,771, their lowest level since 1985. Through June,
filings are off over 70 percent from a similar period in
2005.
ABI membership and members of
the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement:
“Supporters of BAPCPA can validly claim that the law is working
as intended because new filings are now at their lowest levels since the
mid-1980s.” The latest ABI Quick Poll was open for voting
to the public from July 14 – July 20.
ABI’s weekly Quick Poll
is posted on ABI’s home page,
href='/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home'>
color='#800080' size='3'>www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond
to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit
size='3'>http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick
Polls.
###
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
11,500 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders,
turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a
forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional
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