Total Bankruptcy Filings Increase Nearly 35 Percent over First Quarter 2008 Business Filings Jump over 64 Percent
Contact: John Hartgen
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(703) 739-0800
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size='3'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
TOTAL
BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE NEARLY 35 PERCENT
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>OVER FIRST QUARTER 2008; BUSINESS
FILINGS JUMP OVER 64 PERCENT
size='3'>June 9, 2009, Alexandria, Va.—
size='3'>The total number of U.S. bankruptcies filed during the first
three months of 2009 increased 34.5 percent over the same period in 2008
nationwide, according to data released today by the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts. As total filings reached
size='3'>330,477 during the first calendar year
quarter of 2009 (Jan. 1-March 31), the total surpassed the 245,695 new
cases that were filed over the same period in 2008. The total filings in
the 2009 first quarter also represent a 9.7 percent increase from the
301,317 bankruptcies filed during the fourth quarter of 2008 (Oct. 1
– Dec. 31).
“Consumers and
businesses are increasingly seeking bankruptcy protection in order to
shelter themselves from the financial storms brought on by the current
economic climate,” said
size='3'>Samuel J. Gerdano, ABI Executive
Director. “As unemployment figures continue to rise and
financing remains elusive, we expect filings to surge past 1.4 million
cases by year-end.”
Business filings for the
three-month period ending March 31, 2009 totaled
size='3'>14,319, representing a 64.3 percent increase over the first
quarter 2008 total of 8,713. The first quarter 2009 business filing
total also represented an 11 percent increase over the fourth quarter
2008 total of 12,901.
Consumer filings
increased 33.4 percent to 316,158
size='3'>for the three-month period ending March 31, 2009, from the 2008
first quarter total of 236,982. They also represent an 9.6 percent
increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, which recorded a total of
288,416 nonbusiness filings. The percentage of consumers filing for
chapter 13 protection fell slightly from 35.6 percent during the first
quarter of 2008 (January 1-March 31) to 29.2 percent over the same
period in 2009. The number of consumers filing for chapter 7 protection
increased to 70.8 percent during the first three months of 2009, the
largest percentage of consumer chapter 7 filers since the implementation
of BAPCPA in 2005.
The 12-month filing total
of 1,202,503 for the period
ending March 31, 2009, is an increase of 33.3 percent from the same
period in 2008, which totaled 901,927 filings. Nonbusiness filings for
the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009, totaled
size='3'>1,153,412, up 32.4 percent from the 871,186 total nonbusiness
filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2008. Business filings
for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009, totaled
size='3'>49,091, up 59.7 percent from the 30,741 business bankruptcy
petitions filed in the 12-month period ending March 31,
2008.
The
size='3'>819,362 total chapter 7 filings for the
12-month period ending March 31, 2009, represent a 46.3 percent increase
from the 560,015 filings from the same period in 2008. Total chapter 13
filings increased 10.9 percent to 370,875 in the 12-month period ending
March 31, 2009 from 334,551 in the same period last year.
size='3'> Total chapter 11 filings also
increased, rising 69.1 percent to 11,785 in 2009 from 6,971 in 2008.
Chapter 12 filings increased 7 percent to 367 in 2009 compared to 343
filings in 2008.
The chapter* breakdown
of BUSINESS
filings for the 3-month period ending March 31, 2009,
is: 9,700 chapter 7s,
3,431 chapter 11s, 102 chapter 12s
and 1,045 chapter
13s.
The chapter breakdown
of
size='3'>NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month
period ending March 31, 2009, is: 223,760
chapter 7s, 248 chapter 11s and
size='3'>92,150 chapter 13s.
States with the
HIGHEST PER CAPITA FILING
RATE (Total Filings) for the 12-month period
ending March 31, 2009:
size='3'>1. Tennessee
size='3'>2. Nevada
size='3'>3. Alabama
size='3'>4. Georgia
size='3'>5. Indiana
size='3'>6. Michigan
size='3'>7. Ohio
size='3'>8. Kentucky
size='3'>9. Arkansas
size='3'>10. Illinois
Districts with the
Highest Percentage
size='3'>INCREASE in Total Filings for the
12-month period ending March 31, 2009 (compared to the identical period
in 2008):
- Central District of
California: 92.9% - District of Delaware:
86.0% - District of Arizona:
82.5% - Southern District of
California: 74.1% - TIE- District of Nevada and
Eastern District of California: 69.9%
Districts with the
Highest Percentage
size='3'>DECREASE in Total Filings for the
12-month period ending March 31, 2009 (compared to the identical period
in 2008):
- District of the Northern
Mariana Islands: 38.5% - District of the Virgin
Islands: 26.1% - Middle District of Louisiana:
13.4% - Southern District of Texas:
4.3%
###
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 12,000 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 www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information,
visit
face='Times New Roman' color='#0000ff'
size='3'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>.
size='3'>*Definitions from 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.
size='3'>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.
size='3'>Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy
Code is designed to give special debt relief to a family farmer with
regular income from farming.
size='3'>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.