Bankruptcy Filings Hit Fiscal Year Historic High in 2001

Bankruptcy filings in federal courts rose to a fiscal year historic high during the 12-month period ending September 30, 2001. Bankruptcy cases for FY 2001 totaled 1,437,354, up 14 percent from the 1,262,102 bankruptcy filings for FY 2000, according to data compiled by the Administrative Office. The Judiciary’s fiscal year is the twelve-month period from October 1 through September 30.

The bankruptcy courts have continued to handle the heavier workload, although no new bankruptcy judges have been added to the federal bench since 1992. As a consequence, cases per judgeship have increased 48 percent since 1992 and the average number of cases handled per bankruptcy judgeship now stands at 4,436.

The previous high for bankruptcy filings during a fiscal year was in 1998, when filings reached a total of 1,436,964. Two fiscal years of declining case filings followed. The highest number of bankruptcy filings recorded in any 12-month period was reached in calendar year 1998 (January 1, 1998, through December 31, 1998), when filings totaled 1,442,549.

Business filings in FY 01 totaled 38,490, up 7 percent from FY 00. Nevertheless, business filings are an ever-smaller portion of total bankruptcy filings; they have declined 29 percent since 1997, while non-business or personal filings have become an increasingly larger portion. Non-business bankruptcy filings totaled 1,398,864 in FY 01, up 14 percent from FY 00. A breakdown of the latest data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary’s website at www.uscourts.gov under Newsroom.