Press Releases

Small Business Subchapter V Issues, Commercial Real Estate, AI in Practice and More to Be Discussed at ABI's 2024 Annual Spring Meeting in April in Washington, D.C.

Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute's (ABI) 2024 Annual Spring Meeting returns to the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., April 18-20. ABI’s largest annual conference features timely concurrent sessions tailored for commercial and consumer practitioners. NBC journalist Chuck Todd will be providing his perspectives on the upcoming November elections during the conference’s keynote address.

In addition, a special plenary session will be examining the final report and recommendations of ABI's Subchapter V Task Force, to be released in April during the conference. The current debt-eligibility limit of $7.5 million for small businesses looking to elect subchapter V reorganization under chapter 11 is due to sunset back to $2,725,625 in late June. After nine months of public hearings, roundtable discussions and an industry survey inviting comment on subchapter V, the Task Force released a preliminary report in December encouraging Congress to permanently maintain the eligibility limit of $7.5 million in aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debt for small businesses looking to reorganize under subchapter V.

The conference will conclude with a special interview with Tara Twomey, the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees.

Sessions at the 2024 Annual Spring Meeting include:

·      Plenary Session: ABI Talks

·      Advanced Fraud-Based Litigation and Uncovering Hidden Assets

·      Exporting Corporate Bankruptcies

·      Whatever Happened to DIP Financing?

·      AI as a New Tool

·      A Potpourri of Ethical Considerations in Real Estate Bankruptcy

·      Private Credit Restructurings and Trends

·      Commercial Real Estate

·      Sub V vs. Traditional 11? Confirmation and Other Key Plan Issues

·      The Impact of Business Email Compromise in the Bankruptcy Arena: Strategies and Tools to Protect Bankruptcy Participants

·      Plenary Session: Subchapter V Task Force Report and Recommendations

·      Privilege Issues in Bankruptcy

·      Unique Asset Sale Issues in Health Care

·      A Brave New World: Use of Technology and Ethical Considerations in Post-Pandemic Practice

·      How Do We Get to Valuation?

·      Cross-Border Recovery in Fraudulent Schemes

·      Mediation of Consumer Bankruptcy Issues

·      Working Together: Collaboration Between Secured Creditors and Unsecured Constituents

·      Mental Health Issues: What to Look For, and How to Get Help

·      Preserving the Public Trust: The Need for Strict Adherence to the Code of Judicial Conduct, the Rules of Professional Conduct, and Other Ethical Principles

·      Plenary Session: Conversation with EOUST Director Tara Twomey

To see the full conference schedule, please click here.

Press interested in attending the conference should contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].  

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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 nearly 10,000 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 http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

University of Texas School of Law Wins 32nd Annual Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition

The University of Texas School of Law won the 32nd Annual Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, held March 2-4 in New York City. The competition is co-sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and St. John’s University School of Law. Florida International University College of Law took second place in the competition, and teams from Fordham University School of Law and the University of Memphis-Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law shared third-place honors. Florida International University College of Law won for Best Brief, and Tansy Nicholson of Baylor University School of Law won the Best Advocate award.

The competition consisted of eight rounds of oral arguments and final rounds. ABI practitioners and academics coached many of the teams, and nearly 200 lawyers and federal judges donated their time and expertise to help judge the event. The fact pattern for the competition focused on two key developments in bankruptcy law. The first issue looked at whether any post-petition, pre-conversion increase in equity in a debtor’s property inures to the benefit of the debtor or to the bankruptcy estate upon conversion of a case from chapter 13 to chapter 7 pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 348 and 541. The second issue looked at whether a chapter 7 trustee may sell, as property of the bankruptcy estate, the ability to avoid and recover transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 547 and 550.

Final-round judges for the 2024 competition were Bankruptcy Judge Jil Mazer-Marino (E.D.N.Y.), Chief Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn (S.D.N.Y.), U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil (S.D.N.Y.) and Chief Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Paul Hage of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, LLP (Southfield, Mich.) and Bankruptcy Judge John T. Gregg (W.D. Mich.; Grand Rapids) drafted this year’s fact pattern.

The Duberstein Competition, named for the late Judge Conrad B. Duberstein, a St. John’s alumnus and former ABI director, has grown into the largest appellate moot court competition in the nation. ABI’s Endowment Fund awarded $13,000 in cash prizes for the winners during a gala reception held at the New York Marriott Downtown on March 4. The gala featured a special memoriam for retired St. John’s University Law School professor Robert M. Zinman, who helped found ABI and the ABI Law Review, and establish the Duberstein Moot Court Competition. Zinman passed away on Saturday at the age of 92.

For more information on the Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, please go to https://www.stjohns.edu/law/academics/centers-institutes/center-bankruptcy-studies/32nd-annual-duberstein-bankruptcy-moot-court-competition.

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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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

February Commercial Chapter 11s Surge 118 Percent

February Commercial Chapter 11s Surge 118 Percent

 

Total Bankruptcy Filings Increase 22 Percent

NEW YORK/ALEXANDRIA – March 4, 2024 Commercial chapter 11 bankruptcy filings climbed 118 percent in February 2024, with the 822 filings versus the 377 filings in February 2023, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. The sizable increase in commercial chapter 11 filings in February was spurred by a large number of related filings in two large commercial chapter 11 proceedings.

Total February commercial filings increased 48 percent to 2,546 from the 1,720 commercial filings in February 2023. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 78 percent to 213 in February 2024, up from 120 the previous year.

Total bankruptcy filings were 39,014 in February 2024, a 22 percent increase from the February 2023 total of 31,909. February marks 19 consecutive months that total, individual, and commercial bankruptcy filings have registered monthly year-over-year increases.

Individual bankruptcy filings increased 21 percent in February to 36,468, up from the February 2023 individual filing total of 30189. There were 21,158 individual chapter 7 filings in February 2024, a 25 percent increase over the 15,717 filings recorded in February 2023, and there were 14,871 individual chapter 13 filings in February 2024, a 9 percent increase over the 13,678 filings last February.

“Once again individual and commercial new bankruptcy filings increased double digit percentages from both a monthly and annual perspective,” said Michael Hunter, Vice President of Epiq AACER. “This underscores the continued and anticipated increase towards a normalization of pre-pandemic volumes for those seeking bankruptcy protection. We anticipate this momentum of filings to continue this upward trend.”

 

“Bankruptcy provides a proven path for struggling consumers and businesses looking for a financial fresh start amid the challenging economic terrain of inflation, elevated interest rates and tighter lending terms,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “Congressional consideration of extending or permanently making the expanded eligibility limit of small businesses electing to file for subchapter V under chapter 11 before it expires in June would maintain greater access to this reliable path for small businesses to successfully restructure, reduce liquidations and save jobs.”

 

The debt eligibility limit of $7.5 million for small businesses looking to elect subchapter V reorganization under chapter 11 is due to sunset back to $2,725,625 in late June. ABI's Subchapter V Task Force will present its final report and recommendations at the 2024 ABI Annual Spring Meeting in April in Washington, D.C. The Task Force on Dec. 15, 2023, transmitted its “Preliminary Report of ABI’s Subchapter V Task Force on Maintaining the $7,500,000 Debt Cap for Subchapter V Eligibility” to Congress, and its findings support permanently maintaining the eligibility limit of $7.5 million in aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debt for small businesses looking to reorganize under subchapter V.

 

February’s bankruptcy filing totals also registered an increase over last month’s filings. Commercial chapter 11s increased 77 percent from January’s 464 filings. Overall commercial filings increased 20 percent from the 2,114 filings registered in January. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 increased 22 percent from the 175 filings in January 2024. Total bankruptcies increased 7 percent over January’s 36,618 filings, and consumer bankruptcies edged up 6 percent over January’s total of 34,504. Individual chapter 7s increased 8 percent, and chapter 13s increased 3 percent from January’s filings.

 

ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq Bankruptcy is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Its Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.

 

About Epiq

Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal industry and corporations, takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action, and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at www.epiqglobal.com.

 

About ABI 

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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Bankruptcy Judge Presents His Key Judicial Insights in Complimentary ABI eBook

Alexandria, Va. — Hon. Scott C. Clarkson, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California in Santa Ana, provides an invaluable insider’s look at what he’s learned in his years on the bench in a new ABI ebook titled 27 Articles for Bankruptcy Judges: A Bankruptcy Judge's Insights on Trying to Get It Right. Judge Clarkson’s musings are divided into 27 essays in 27 Articles, a nod to author T.E. Lawrence’s writings of the same name during World War I. Available for free, the ebook serves as a useful guide for both new and seasoned judges, practitioners thinking of becoming judges, judicial staff, and anyone who conducts business in and around the courts.

“This is really a book about the reemergence of civility both in and out of court, and how both judges and the legal profession may strive to promote civility, honesty and integrity throughout the legal system,” Judge Clarkson said.

“Judge Clarkson’s book is a delight,” said ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle, author of ABI’s Rochelle’s Daily Wire. “It’s chock full of hints for newly minted judges.”

To obtain your copy of 27 Articles for Bankruptcy Judges: A Bankruptcy Judge's Insights on Trying to Get It Right, please click here.

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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 nearly 11,000 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 http://www.abi.org/education-events.

January Small Business Subchapter V Elections Increase 43 Percent over Last Year

January Small Business Subchapter V Elections Increase 43 Percent over Last Year

Total Bankruptcy Filings Increase 17 Percent

NEW YORK/ALEXANDRIA – Jan. 2, 2024 Total bankruptcy filings were 36,607 in January 2024, a 17 percent increase from the January 2023 total of 31,176, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. January marks 18 consecutive months that total, individual, and commercial bankruptcy filings have registered monthly year-over-year increases.

Individual bankruptcy filings also increased 17 percent in January to 34,515, up from the January 2023 individual filing total of 29,448. There were 19,590 individual chapter 7 filings in January 2024, a 25 percent increase over the 15,717 filings recorded in January 2023, and there were 14,871 individual chapter 13 filings in January 2024, a 9 percent increase over the 13,678 filings last January.

Overall commercial bankruptcy filings rose 21 percent in January 2024, with the 2,092 filings ticking up from the 1,728 filings in January 2023. There were 460 commercial chapter 11 filings recorded in January 2024, a 22 percent increase from the 378 commercial chapter 11s in January 2023. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 43 percent to 176 in January 2024, up from 123 in January 2023.

“As expected, the upward trend of bankruptcy filing volumes persist into the new year and we expect that trend to continue, particularly as the spring tax season concludes,” said Michael Hunter, Vice President of Epiq AACER.  “High interest rates, price fatigue and the pandemic-era excess consumer savings depletion are all contributing factors to the increases now and into 2024."

"Households and businesses continue to adjust to sustained high interest rates, persistent inflation and more stringent lending terms," said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. "While not at the levels recorded prior to the pandemic, we anticipate that the steady increase in bankruptcies will continue this year."

Adding to challenges faced by small businesses, the debt eligibility limit of $7.5 million for businesses looking to elect subchapter V reorganization under chapter 11 is due to sunset back to $2,725,625 in late June. ABI's Subchapter V Task Force on Dec. 15 transmitted its “Preliminary Report of ABI’s Subchapter V Task Force on Maintaining the $7,500,000 Debt Cap for Subchapter V Eligibility” to Congress, and its findings support permanently maintaining the eligibility limit of $7.5 million in aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debt for small businesses looking to reorganize under subchapter V. The Task Force’s Preliminary Report is the result of nine months of public hearings, roundtable discussions and an industry survey inviting comment on subchapter V.

Total and individual bankruptcy filings increased slightly over December’s filing totals, while commercial filings decreased slightly. Total bankruptcies increased 6 percent over December’s 34,481 filings, and consumer bankruptcies edged up 7 percent over December’s total of 32,403. Individual chapter 7s increased 5 percent, and chapter 13s increased 9 percent, from December’s filings. Conversely, commercial chapter 11s decreased 10 percent from December’s 508 filings. Overall commercial filings increased 1 percent from the 2,078 filings registered in December. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 decreased 12 percent from the 200 filed in December 2023.

ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq Bankruptcy is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Its Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.

About Epiq

Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal industry and corporations, takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action, and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at www.epiqglobal.com.

About ABI 

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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

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Press Contacts

Carrie Trent
Epiq, Director of Communications & Public Relations
[email protected]

John Hartgen

ABI, Public Affairs Officer
[email protected]

Use of AI in Valuation Models, Impact of Higher-Interest-Rate Environment and Third-Party Releases Among Issues to Be Discussed at the VALCON 2024 Conference

Alexandria, Va. Leading bankruptcy professionals and dealmakers will be converging at the VALCON 2024 conference, taking place at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans March 18-20, 2024. The conference is sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors, and attendees can earn up to 9.25 hours of CLE, including 1.2 hours of ethics. The conference will provide attendees with advanced discussions and fresh perspectives on timely topics to help them navigate the shifting sands of valuation in bankruptcy. ABI’s Complex Financial Restructuring Program is being held in conjunction with VALCON 2024 on March 18. Registrants can attend either program, or both programs for a reduced registration fee.

Sessions include:

  • Industry Overviews
  • Third-Party Releases: Is There a Fair Price to Pay?
  • The Trucking Company Industry and Related Bankruptcy Issues
  • The Use of AI in Valuation Models/Impact of AI on Valuation/Impact of Generative AI on IP Valuations
  • Out-of-Court Liability Management Transactions/Lender-on-Lender Violence
  • Contingent Liabilities: The Case of Opioid and Other Litigation
  • The Impact of a Higher-Interest-Rate Environment
  • Breakfast and Conversation with Judges About Today’s Hottest Topics
  • Ethical Considerations in AI Valuation

For a program schedule and full list of speakers, please click here.

Members of the press looking to attend the VALCON 2024 conference should contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

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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 nearly 10,000 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 http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

 

Bankruptcy Crimes, Chapter 11 Issues, Consumer Trends and More to Be Discussed at the 48th Paskay Seminar Feb. 15-16 in Tampa

Alexandria, Va. — ABI and Stetson University College of Law will be presenting the 48th Annual Alexander L. Paskay Memorial Bankruptcy Seminar at the Westin Tampa Waterside in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 15-16. The memorial CLE program honors the lifetime achievements of the late Bankruptcy Judge Alexander L. Paskay. Attendees will hear analysis from some of the leading practitioners and judges on business and consumer case trends. The keynote speaker at this year’s program is author and former FBI Agent Joe Navarro, who will explore the applied use of nonverbal communication in business to better understand, manage or negotiate with others. Attendees have the opportunity to earn up to 8.75 hours of general CLE credit, including 2 hours of ethics. Judicial co-chairs for the conference are Bankruptcy Judges Caryl E. Delano (M.D. Fla.; Tampa) and Mindy A. Mora (S.D. Fla.; West Palm Beach), and the conference chair is Luis E. Rivera of Gray Robinson, P.A. (Fort Myers, Fla.).

Plenary sessions include:

  • Bankruptcy Crimes
  • Adversary Proceedings and Evidence
  • Judicial Roundtable Workouts: Problems, Problems, Problems!

Business Sessions include:

  • Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors vs. Receivership vs. Subchapter V vs. Chapter 7
  • Chapter 11 Updates and Core Issues
  • Appeals

Consumer Sessions include:

  • Consumer Issues Potpourri: What’s New, What’s Trending, and What Isn’t Trending that Should Be!
  • The Coerced, Vulnerable or Incapacitated Debtor: What Are Your Ethical Obligations?
  • Creditor Remedies: Point/Counterpoint

To view the full schedule and list of speakers at the seminar, please click here.

Members of the press looking to attend the Paskay Memorial Bankruptcy Seminar should contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

For more information about the Paskay Memorial Bankruptcy Seminar, please click here.

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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 nearly 10,000 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 http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Increase 72 Percent in Calendar Year 2023

Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Increase 72 Percent in Calendar Year 2023

Total Filings Up 18 Percent

NEW YORK/ALEXANDRIA – Jan. 3, 2024 Commercial chapter 11 filings increased 72 percent to 6,569 in calendar year 2023 from the previous year’s total of 3,819, according to data provided by Epiq AACER, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data.

Overall commercial filings increased 19 percent to 25,627 from the 21,479 registered the previous year. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 also experienced a substantial increase in calendar year 2023, as the 1,939 filings represented a 45 percent increase from the 1,334 recorded in 2022.

Total bankruptcy filings in calendar year 2023 were 445,186, an 18 percent increase from the 378,390 registered during calendar year 2022. While representing a substantial year-over-year increase, total bankruptcy filings remain lower than the pre-pandemic total of 757,816 recorded in CY2019. 

“As anticipated, we saw new filings in 2023 increase momentum over 2022 with a significant number of commercial filers leading the expected increase and normalization back to pre-pandemic bankruptcy volumes,” said Michael Hunter, Vice President of Epiq AACER.  “We expect the increase in number of consumer and commercial filers seeking bankruptcy protection to continue in 2024 given the runoff of pandemic stimulus, increased cost of funds, higher interest rates, rising delinquency rates, and near historic levels of household debt.”

Overall consumer filing totals for calendar year 2023 were 419,559, representing an 18 percent increase from the 356,911 consumer filings the previous year. The 175,964 consumer chapter 13 bankruptcy filings during calendar year 2023 also registered an 18 percent increase over 2022’s total of 149,069. Consumer chapter 7 filings increased 17 percent in CY2023 to 242,936 from 207,188 filings the previous year.

"Though still below pre-pandemic figures, bankruptcies in all filing categories climbed last year amid the evaporation of pandemic emergency responses, increased interest rates and tougher lending standards," said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. "As interest rates remain elevated, increasing geopolitical tensions weigh on global supply chains and debt loads continue to grow, struggling businesses and families can turn to the proven process of bankruptcy for a financial fresh start."

In partnership with Epiq, an abiLIVE webinar at 2:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 9 will feature experts looking at CY2023 filing trends and providing their thoughts on what could happen with bankruptcies in the year ahead. Speakers on the program include Michael Hunter of Epiq AACER (Jacksonville, Fla.), Lindsay Zahradka Milne of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A. (Portland, Maine) and ABI's Ed Flynn (Alexandria, Va.). Deirdre O’Connor of Epiq (New York) will serve as moderator for the program. Click here for a complimentary registration.

Total bankruptcy filings were 34,447 in December 2023, a 16 percent increase from the December 2022 total of 29,654. The consumer bankruptcy filing total of 32,390 also represented a 16 percent increase from the 27,917 consumer filings in December 2022. Overall commercial filings increased 18 percent in December 2023, as the 2,057 filings were up from the 1,737 commercial filings registered in December 2022. The 503 commercial chapter 11 filings in December represented a 54 percent increase from the 326 filings in December 2022. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 experienced a 77 percent increase, from 114 in December 2022 to 202 in December 2023.

ABI has partnered with Epiq AACER to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq AACER is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Its Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.

About Epiq

Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal industry and corporations, takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action, and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at www.epiqglobal.com.

About ABI 

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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

 

ABI Releases Preliminary Report Recommending Congress Maintain the $7.5 Million Debt Eligibility Limit for Small Businesses Looking to Reorganize Under Subchapter V

Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Subchapter V Task Force today released its “Preliminary Report of ABI’s Subchapter V Task Force on Maintaining the $7,500,000 Debt Cap for Subchapter V Eligibility” with findings to support permanently maintaining the eligibility limit of $7.5 million in aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debt for small businesses looking to reorganize under subchapter V. The Task Force’s Preliminary Report, which was also transmitted today to key members of Congress, is the result of nine months of public hearings, roundtable discussions and an industry survey inviting comment on Subchapter V.

“As the Preliminary Report notes, subchapter V is imperative for this category of debtors that cannot reorganize in a regular chapter 11 case and would otherwise liquidate and close, thus harming owners, employees, and creditors,” ABI President Soneet Kapila of Kapila Mukamal (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) writes in the letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, and Rep. Luis Correa (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the subcommittee. “Had the $7.5 million debt cap not been in place, given the cost of restructuring alternatives, these businesses would likely have been extinguished, thereby leading to the loss of jobs and harm to the economy.”

The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA) went into effect on February 19, 2020, with a debt eligibility limit of $2,725,625 for struggling small businesses looking for a more economical and efficient way to reorganize their debts within chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. In March 2020, the eligibility limit was expanded to $7.5 million through the CARES Act of 2020, and it received subsequent legislative extensions that are scheduled to sunset in June 2024.

The Task Force’s Preliminary Report found that nearly 30% of all chapter 11 bankruptcy cases filed since the enactment of the SBRA have been subchapter V cases. Significantly, the Task Force found that more than 25% of these subchapter V debtors would have been ineligible for subchapter V relief under the lower cap.

“Most subchapter V debtors have filed bankruptcy while the $7.5 million debt cap has been in place,” Kapila noted in the letter. “Reverting to the lower debt cap would make reorganization inaccessible to many smaller businesses.”

To access the Preliminary Report and find out more about the work of ABI’s Subchapter V Task Force, please visit https://subvtaskforce.abi.org/.

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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 nearly 10,000 attorneys, financial advisors, 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.

November Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Increase 141 Percent over 2022 Propelled by WeWork Bankruptcy

November Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Increase 141 Percent over 2022 Propelled by WeWork Bankruptcy

Total Filings Increased by 21 Percent

NEW YORK/ALEXANDRIA – Dec. 4, 2023 The bankruptcy filing by WeWork, Inc. in November propelled November commercial chapter 11 filings to 842, an increase of 141 percent over the 349 filings registered in November 2022, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data.

The case filed by WeWork, Inc. on Nov. 6 included 517 related filings, according to an ABI analysis, representing the third-most related filings in a case since the Bankruptcy Code became effective in 1979.

Overall commercial filings increased 21 percent to 2,252 in November 2023, up from the 1,864 commercial filings registered in November 2022. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 79 percent to 181 in November 2023, up from 101 in November 2022.

Total bankruptcy filings were 37,860 in November 2023, a 21 percent increase from the November 2022 total of 31,187. Individual bankruptcy filings also registered a 21 percent year-over-year increase, as the 35,608 in November 2023 represented an increase over the 29,323 filings in November 2022. There were 20,250 individual chapter 7 filings in November 2023, a 23 percent increase over the 16,421 filings recorded in November 2022, and there were 15,280 individual chapter 13 filings in November 2023, a 19 percent increase over the 12,862 filings the previous November.

“Individual bankruptcy filings continue to rise as support from government stimulus and lender forbearance programs recedes, and ongoing price inflation and higher lending rates put pressure on household balance sheets,” said Todd Madsen, AACER Vice President. “Commercial filings also continue to rise as businesses struggle to refinance debt in today’s higher rate environment."

"The rebound in filings seen this year is a reflection of the challenging economic environment resulting from the evaporation of pandemic responses, including government stimulus, low interest rates and looser lending terms," said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. "Bankruptcy provides a reliable beacon to consumers and businesses struggling to navigate the financial terrain of higher interest rates, tighter lending terms and elevated pricing."

Most categories of bankruptcy filings decreased slightly from the previous month. Only commercial chapter 11 filings registered an increase, bolstered by the WeWork filings. Commercial chapter 11s increased 31 percent from October’s 645 filings. Total and consumer bankruptcies both decreased 7 percent when compared to their respective October filing totals of 40,663 for total filings and 38,287 for consumer filings. Individual chapter 7s decreased 9 percent, and chapter 13s decreased 4 percent, from October’s filings. Overall commercial filings decreased 5 percent from the 2,376 filings registered in October. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 decreased 2 percent from the 185 filed in October 2023.

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About Epiq

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About ABI 

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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

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John Hartgen
ABI, Public Affairs Officer
[email protected]

Carrie Trent
Epiq, Director of Communications & Public Relations
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