Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings Hit High
The record-breaking number of bankruptcy petitions
filed in federal courts for the 12-month period that ended March 31 was
stoked by a 17.2 percent increase nationwide in the number of Chapter 7
filings. Five bankruptcy courts saw Chapter 7 filings increase by at least
29 percent.
Chapter 7 is designed to allow individuals
to keep certain exempt property while the remaining property is sold to
repay creditors.
Chapter 7 filings topped 1.05 million for the period
ending March 31, an increase of 17.2 percent over the number of chapter
7 filings in the 12-month period that ended March 31, 2001. Total bankruptcy
filings exceeded 1.5 million for the first time in any 12-month period.
Iowa-Southern was the district that saw the
sharpest one-year percentage spike in Chapter 7 filings. The 6,419 filings
there represented a 34.1 percent increase over the 12-month period that
ended March 31, 2001.
North Carolina-Middle saw a 32.6 percent increase;
Ohio-Northern, 31.3; Utah, 30.2; and North Carolina-Eastern 29.
The largest Chapter 7 caseload for the 12-month
period ending March 31 was California-Central, with 72,533 filings. Illinois-Northern
was next with 36,853; then Florida-Middle, 36,280; Ohio-Northern, 31,504;
and Ohio-Southern, 27,173.
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