Bankruptcy Filings Up Slightly in March

Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011, rose 2.6 percent when compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. March 2011 bankruptcy filings totaled 1,571,183, with 1,531,997 bankruptcy cases filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. Business and Non-business Filings The majority of bankruptcy filings involve predominantly non-business debts. Non-business filings (also called personal or consumer filings) for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011, totaled 1,516,971, up 3 percent from the 1,470,849 bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. Filings involving predominantly business debts fell. They totaled 54,212, down 11 percent from the 61,148 business bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. Second Quarter of FY 2011 The first three months of 2011 were the second quarter of the Judiciarys 2011 fiscal year. The number of bankruptcies filed during those three months was 366,178, down 6 percent from the 388,148 filings in the same quarter of 2010. Filings by Chapter For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011, filings rose for chapters 7, 12, and 13, while chapter 11 filings fell, compared to the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. * Chapter 7 filings rose 2 percent to 1,118,481, compared to the 1,100,032 Chapter 7 filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. * Chapter 13 filings rose 5 percent to 438,788 from the 415,966 bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. * Chapter 11 filings fell 14 percent to 13,051 from the 15,251 Chapter 11 filings in the same time period in 2010. * Chapter 12 filings rose 23 percent to 743, from the 605 filings for the 12-month period ending March 2010. For more on bankruptcy and its chapters, visit the Judiciary's website or go to www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf. Local bankruptcy court rules can be found at www.uscourts.gov/rules/bk-localrules.html. Historic data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary's website under Bankruptcy Statistics.