Contact: John Hartgen 
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JANUARY CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS DECREASE 10 PERCENT FROM DECEMBER

February 2, 2010, Alexandria, Va.— The 102,254 consumer bankruptcies filed in January represented a 10 percent decrease nationwide from the 113,274 consumer filings recorded in December, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). NBKRC’s data also showed that the January 2010 consumer filings represented a 15 percent increase over the 88,773consumer filings recorded in January 2009. Chapter 13 filings constituted 30 percent of all consumer cases in January, representing a 2 percent increase from December.

“While January represented a drop in filings from the previous month, high unemployment rates, unsustainable mortgage burdens and other economic stresses will push more consumers to seek the financial relief of bankruptcy in 2010,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Consumer filings this year will likely surpass the 1.4 million consumer filings recorded in 2009.”

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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 12,400 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 http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.

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 http://www.nbkrc.com.

*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.  

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.