For the first time in the history of the United States courts, the number of bankruptcy petitions filed has topped the one million mark, according to data released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. For the 12-month period ending June 30, 1996, there were 1,042,110 bankruptcy petitions filed. This figure is more than double the number registered a decade ago when, for the 12-month period ending June 30, 1986, there were 477,856 bankruptcy petitions filed. In addition, the number of bankruptcies filed during the third quarter of fiscal year 1996 (April 1-June 30)—297,162—represents the highest quarterly level ever.
Among the U.S. bankruptcy courts, the Central District of California remained the district reporting the largest number of filings in the country with 91,476. The Northern District of Illinois, the District of New Jersey, and the Middle District of Florida all showed over 30,000 bankruptcy filings in this period. Filings in the Northern District of Georgia, and the Eastern and Northern Districts of California neared that marked.
The Judiciary is urging the creation of 11 new bankruptcy judgeships, and legislation creating additional bankruptcy judges is now pending in the House. The bill, H.R. 2604, would establish four additional permanent bankruptcy judgeships in the Central District of California and one in the District of Maryland. It would add one additional temporary judgeship each to the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Michigan, the District of New Jersey, the Eastern District of New York, the Northern District of New York, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Of the total number of bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 1996, there were 712,129 Chapter 7 filings, an increase of 22.5 percent over the 581,390 filings in the same period in 1995. The next largest group of filings were Chapter 13 filings at 316,024, a rise of 20.4 percent over the 262,551 filings in the same period in 1995. Chapter 11 was the only Chapter to show a drop. There were 12,859 Chapter 11 filings in the 1996 period, a 2.7 percent drop from 13,221 in 1995. Chapter 12 filings rose in this period, from 904 in 1995 to 1,063 in 1996. Business filings totaled 52,938. Non-business filings totaled 989,172.
Chapter 7 is designed to allow individuals to keep certain exempt property while the remaining property is sold to repay creditors. Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, creditors may be repaid in installments, in full or in part, over a three- to five-year period. Chapter 11 provides for a business to continue operations while formulating a plan to repay its creditors. Chapter 12 is designed to meet the needs of financially distressed family farmers.
For the Judiciary, June 30 was the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 1996. In the third quarter of FY 96, there were 297,162 bankruptcy cases filed, up from the 266,149 bankruptcy cases filed in the second quarter, and the 244,494 cases filed in the first quarter of FY 96. Total business filings in the third quarter numbered 13,992, and non-business filings were 283,170.
| Total Filings | Chapter 7 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 297,162 | 208,796 | 3,099 | 314 | 84,940 |
| Total Business | Chapter 7 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 |
| 13,992 | 8,052 | 2,789 | 314 | 2,825 |
| Total Non-Business | Chapter 7 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 13 | |
| 283,170 | 200,744 | 310 | 82,115 |
| 3-Month Period Ending | Total Filings |
|---|---|
| JUN. 31, 1996 | 297,162 |
| MAR. 31, 1996 | 266,149 |
| DEC. 31, 1995 | 244,494 |
| SEPT. 30, 1995 | 233,593 |
| JUN. 30, 1995 | 235,302 |
| MAR. 31, 1995 | 212,626 |
| DEC. 31, 1994 | 201,618 |
| SEPT. 30,1994 | 208,187 |
| JUN. 30, 1994 | 216,213 |
| MAR. 31, 1994 | 206,565 |
| DEC. 31, 1993 | 206,570 |
| SEPT. 30, 1993 | 215,498 |
| JUN. 30, 1993 | 229,406 |
| MAR. 31, 1993 | 222,694 |
| DEC. 31, 1992 | 228,562 |
| SEPT. 30, 1992 | 236,810 |
| JUN. 30, 1992 | 250,622 |
| MAR. 31, 1992 | 252,733 |
| DEC. 31, 1991 | 234,383 |
| SEPT. 30, 1991 | 231,743 |
| JUN. 30, 1991 | 246,430 |
| MAR. 31, 1991 | 231,017 |
| DEC. 31, 1990 | 209,798 |
| SEPT. 30, 1990 | 192,555 |