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TOTAL BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP 11 PERCENT THROUGH FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2010 WHILE BUSINESS FILINGS DECREASE

 
November 8, 2010 Alexandria, Va.— The 1,222,589 total U.S. bankruptcies filed for the first nine months of 2010 (Jan. 1 – Sept. 30) represented an 11 percent increase over the 1,100,035 cases filed over the same period in 2009, according to data released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Consumer filings totaled 1,179,573 for the first nine months of 2010 representing nearly a 12 percent increase over 1,054,525 filed during the same period in 2009. Bankruptcies have continued to increase since the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code.
 
“As the economy looks to climb out of the recent recession, businesses and consumers continue to file for bankruptcy to regain their financial footing,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “With unemployment hovering near 10 percent and access to credit remaining tight, total filings in 2010 will likely exceed 1.6 million.”
 
The 43,016 business bankruptcies recorded during the first three quarters of 2010 (Jan. 1 – Sept. 30) represented nearly a 6 percent drop from the 45,510 business filings during the same period in 2009. Business filings during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, totaled 13,957 filings, down 8 percent over the 15,177 business filings in 2009. Chapter 11 business filings decreased nearly 5 percent to 2,916 during the third quarter of 2010, compared to the 3,060 filings during the similar period in 2009. Chapter 7 business filings totaled 9,807 during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, representing a 9 percent decrease over the 10,798 filings during the same period in 2009.

The 1,596,355 total filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, were up nearly 14 percent from the same period in 2009, which totaled 1,402,816. Nonbusiness filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, totaled 1,538,033, an increase of 14 percent from the 1,344,095 total nonbusiness filings calculated over the same period in 2009. However, business filings decreased slightly for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, as the 58,322 business filings were down nearly 1 percent from the 58,721 business petitions filed in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009.

The 1,146,511 total chapter 7 filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, represent a 16 percent increase from the 989,227 filings from the same period in 2009. Total chapter 13 filings increased 9 percent to 434,839 in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, from 398,210 in the same period last year. In addition, total chapter 12 filings nearly doubled, increasing 45 percent from 487 in 2009 to 707 in 2010. Total chapter 11 filings fell, however, decreasing nearly 4 percent to 14,191 in 2010 from 14,745 in 2009.
 
The 412,380 total U.S. bankruptcies filed during the third quarter of 2010 (July 1 – Sept. 30) represented a 6 percent increase over the 388,485 cases filed over the same period in 2009. Consumer filings totaled 398,423 during the third quarter of 2010 (July 1-Sept. 30), representing a 7 percent increase over the 373,308 filed during the same period of 2009. Consumer chapter 7 filings during the 2010 third quarter totaled 280,006, an increase of 5 percent over the 2009 third quarter total of 265,721. Chapter 13 consumer filings also increased during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, with the 117,893 filings, representing an 10 percent increase over the 107,142 filings during the same period in 2009.
 
BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, totaled 13,957, down nearly 8 percent from the 15,177 bankruptcy business cases filed in the same period in 2009.

NON-BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, increased 7 percent from 373,308 in 2009 to 398,423 in 2010.
 
The chapter* breakdown of BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, is: 9,807 chapter 7s, 2,916 chapter 11s, 202 chapter 12s and 1,011 chapter 13s.
 
The chapter breakdown of NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, 2010, is: 280,006 chapter 7s, 524 chapter 11s and 117,893 chapter 13s.

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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 12,600 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 www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
*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.