The number of bankruptcy filings in the federal courts in Fiscal Year 2002 broke records again, and with no new bankruptcy judgeships and funding frozen, the Judiciary is struggling to handle the caseload. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, more bank- ruptcies were filed in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2002 than at any time in history. Bankruptcy cases for FY 2002 totaled 1,547,669, up 7.7 percent from the 1,437,354 bankruptcy filings for FY 2001. The 2002 Fiscal Year bankruptcy filings total breaks the record just set in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2002, when bankruptcies totaled 1,505,306. Non-business or personal bankruptcy filings, which make up the majority of bankruptcy filings, also broke records with a total of 1,508,578, up 7.8 percent from the fiscal year 2001 filings. Business filings in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2002, totaled 39,091, up 1.6 percent from the same period in 2001. The Judiciary’s fiscal year is the twelve- month period from October 1 through September 30.
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Business and Non-Business Filings
Years Ended September 30, 1998-2002
FY Business Non-Business TOTAL
2002 39,091 1,508,578 1,547,669
2001 38,490 1,398,864 1,437,354
2000 36,065 1,226,037 1,262,102
1999 38,625 1,315,751 1,354,376
1998 47,125 1,389,839 1,436,964
Caseload Soars, No Relief in Sight
The caseload of bankruptcy judges has increased 59 percent in the past decade with the rise of bankruptcy filings. The average number of cases handled per bank- ruptcy judgeship has gone from 2,998 in 1992 to 4,777 in 2002. The Judiciary has requested new bankruptcy judgeships to handle the expanding workload, but no new bank- ruptcy judges have been added to the federal bench since 1992. The Judiciary is handicapped further by the current long-term continuing resolution. Until Congress passes the Judiciary’s FY 2003 appropriations bill, court units must function at rates of operation no more than 95 percent of their fiscal year 2002 levels. No budget relief-or room to address the record growth in bankruptcy filings -can be considered until Congress returns next year.
Filings Under Chapters 7, 11 and 13 Increase
In Fiscal Year 2002, filings under all chapters of the Bankruptcy Code increased, with the exception of Chapter 12 filings. The number of Chapter 7 filings rose 6.9 percent from the previous fiscal year to 1,084,336. Chapter 13 filings rose 9.5 percent to 451,258. Chapter 11 filings rose 10.9 percent to 11,669. Chapter 12 filings fell 15 percent to 322.
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Bankruptcy Filings
by Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code
12-Month Periods Ending September 30
Chapter
Year 7 11 12 13
2002 1,084,336 11,669 322 451,258
2001 1,014,137 10,519 379 412,272
2000 870,805 9,835 551 380,880
1999 959,291 8,982 811 385,262
1998 1,026,134 8,765 879 401,151
Chapter 7 is designed to allow individuals to keep certain exempt property while the remaining prop- erty is sold to repay creditors. Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, creditors may be repaid in installments, in full or in part, over a 3- to 5-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.
Fourth Quarter Filings
The number of bankruptcy cases filed during the fourth quarter of the Judiciary’s fiscal year (July 1, 2002 Â September 30, 2002) totaled 401,306. The number of bankruptcy cases filed during the third quarter of the Judiciary’s 2002 fiscal year (April 1, 2002-June 30, 2002) totaled 400,686. The number of bankruptcies filed during the second quarter of fiscal year 2002 (January 1, 2002-March 31, 2002) was 379,012. Filings for the Judiciary’s first quarter of 2002 (October 1, 2001 -December 31, 2001) totaled 364,921.
For more information on bankruptcy visit the Judiciary’s website at www.uscourts.gov/bankbasic.pdf. Local bankruptcy court rules can be found at [www.uscourts.gov/rules/bk-localrules.html][1].
A breakdown of the latest data on bankruptcy filings follows and is also available on the Judiciary’s website at www.uscourts.gov under Newsroom.
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Quarterly Bankruptcy Filings*
Ending Total Filings Ending Total Filings Ending Total Filings
SEPT. 30, 2002 401,306 MAR. 31, 1999 330,784 SEPT. 30, 1995 233,593
JUN. 30, 2002 400,686 DEC. 31, 1998 353,108 JUN. 30, 1995 235,302
MAR. 31, 2002 379,012 SEPT. 30, 1998 361,205 MAR. 31, 1995 212,626
DEC. 31, 2001 364,921 JUN. 30, 1998 373,460 DEC. 31, 1994 201,618
SEPT. 30, 2001 359,518 MAR. 31, 1998 354,118 SEPT. 30,1994 208,187
JUN. 30, 2001 400,394 DEC. 31, 1997 347,685 JUN. 30, 1994 216,213
MAR. 31, 2001 366,841 SEPT. 30, 1997 353,515 MAR. 31, 1994 206,565
DEC. 31, 2000 310,169 JUN. 30, 1997 367,168 DEC. 31, 1993 206,570
SEPT. 30, 2000 308,718 MAR. 31, 1997 335,073 SEPT. 30, 1993 215,498
JUN. 30, 2000 321,729 DEC. 31, 1996 311,131 JUN. 30, 1993 229,406
MAR. 31, 2000 312,335 SEPT. 30, 1996 303,309 MAR. 31, 1993 222,694
DEC. 31, 1999 318,634 JUN. 30, 1996 297,162 DEC. 31, 1992 228,562
SEPT. 30, 1999 323,550 MAR. 31, 1996 266,149 SEPT. 30, 1992 236,810
JUN. 30, 1999 345,956 DEC. 31, 1995 244,494 JUN. 30, 1992 250,622
*Because of ongoing corrections to the bankruptcy database, the quarterly data may not total to the most
recent annual figures.
TABLE F-2 U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURTS
BUSINESS AND NONBUSINESS BANKRUPTCY CASES COMMENCED, BY CHAPTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE,
DURING THE 12-MONTH PERIOD ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2002
CIRCUIT TOTAL TOTAL NON-
AND TOTAL CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP.
DISTRICT FILINGS 7 11 12 13 FILINGS* 7 11 12 13 FILINGS 7 11 13
TOTAL… 1,547,669 1,084,336 11,669 322 451,258 39,091 22,574 10,702 322 5,414 1,508,578 1,061,762 967 445,844
DC…… 2,521 1,770 34 – 717 58 26 29 – 3 2,463 1,744 5 714
1ST… 44,149 30,578 390 7 13,173 1,228 712 358 7 150 42,921 29,866 32 13,023
ME…… 4,467 4,059 18 2 388 101 69 18 2 12 4,366 3,990 – 376
MA…… 17,069 14,363 199 3 2,503 433 232 195 3 2 16,636 14,131 4 2,501
NH…… 3,903 3,517 31 – 355 233 196 29 – 8 3,670 3,321 2 347
RI…… 4,830 4,430 6 – 394 68 60 6 – 2 4,762 4,370 – 392
PR…… 13,880 4,209 136 2 9,533 393 155 110 2 126 13,487 4,054 26 9,407
2ND… 83,234 65,495 1,916 10 15,785 2,869 842 1,829 10 160 80,365 64,653 87 15,625
CT…… 11,456 9,513 122 – 1,821 179 69 107 – 3 11,277 9,444 15 1,818
NY,N…. 15,941 12,688 87 5 3,161 357 191 83 5 78 15,584 12,497 4 3,083
NY,E…. 25,098 19,296 182 – 5,620 315 140 169 – 6 24,783 19,156 13 5,614
NY,S…. 15,914 12,586 1,473 1 1,827 1,635 177 1,422 1 8 14,279 12,409 51 1,819
NY,W…. 13,051 9,851 45 4 3,150 282 189 41 4 47 12,769 9,662 4 3,103
VT…… 1,774 1,561 7 – 206 101 76 7 – 18 1,673 1,485 – 188
3RD… 98,214 64,333 1,626 3 32,231 3,054 1,214 1,569 3 247 95,160 63,119 57 31,984
DE…… 3,966 1,960 892 – 1,094 981 55 890 – 16 2,985 1,905 2 1,078
NJ…… 40,708 25,611 357 – 14,739 702 363 326 – 12 40,006 25,248 31 14,727
PA,E…. 24,390 13,541 114 2 10,733 304 175 105 2 22 24,086 13,366 9 10,711
PA,M…. 12,495 9,499 66 – 2,930 620 391 64 – 165 11,875 9,108 2 2,765
PA,W…. 16,596 13,693 192 1 2,710 439 227 180 1 31 16,157 13,466 12 2,679
VI…… 59 29 5 – 25 8 3 4 – 1 51 26 1 24
CIRCUIT TOTAL TOTAL NON-
AND TOTAL CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP.
DISTRICT FILINGS 7 11 12 13 FILINGS* 7 11 12 13 FILINGS 7 11 13
4TH… 139,082 88,505 682 6 49,888 2,701 1,814 590 6 290 136,381 86,691 92 49,598
MD…… 34,963 23,353 171 – 11,439 636 393 150 – 93 34,327 22,960 21 11,346
NC,E…. 14,820 7,310 63 6 7,441 232 139 55 6 32 14,588 7,171 8 7,409
NC,M…. 11,668 4,869 26 – 6,773 269 201 26 – 42 11,399 4,668 – 6,731
NC,W…. 9,429 4,840 54 – 4,535 98 51 46 – 1 9,331 4,789 8 4,534
SC…… 15,531 6,776 96 – 8,659 183 99 82 – 2 15,348 6,677 14 8,657
VA,E…. 30,141 21,168 169 – 8,804 391 226 134 – 31 29,750 20,942 35 8,773
VA,W…. 12,509 10,780 35 – 1,693 566 460 34 – 71 11,943 10,320 1 1,622
WV,N…. 4,200 3,912 23 – 265 108 78 20 – 10 4,092 3,834 3 255
WV,S…. 5,821 5,497 45 – 279 218 167 43 – 8 5,603 5,330 2 271
5TH… 128,684 72,092 1,212 47 55,329 4,009 2,110 1,102 47 746 124,675 69,982 110 54,583
LA,E…. 9,579 6,478 66 – 3,035 177 115 59 – 3 9,402 6,363 7 3,032
LA,M…. 3,678 2,595 54 – 1,029 68 17 50 – 1 3,610 2,578 4 1,028
LA,W…. 13,583 7,269 47 12 6,255 470 267 44 12 147 13,113 7,002 3 6,108
MS,N…. 8,080 5,372 47 2 2,659 122 67 45 2 8 7,958 5,305 2 2,651
MS,S…. 14,019 8,920 85 6 5,008 173 87 70 6 10 13,846 8,833 15 4,998
TX,N…. 28,195 13,572 290 13 14,319 1,142 645 276 13 207 27,053 12,927 14 14,112
TX,E…. 12,243 6,555 77 2 5,609 358 167 73 2 116 11,885 6,388 4 5,493
TX,S…. 20,812 11,112 364 3 9,332 815 369 325 3 117 19,997 10,743 39 9,215
TX,W…. 18,495 10,219 182 9 8,083 684 376 160 9 137 17,811 9,843 22 7,946
6TH… 218,300 149,170 1,046 18 68,066 3,556 2,128 953 18 457 214,744 147,042 93 67,609
KY,E…. 11,905 10,310 107 – 1,488 246 129 105 – 12 11,659 10,181 2 1,476
KY,W…. 14,934 11,920 57 1 2,956 126 67 51 1 7 14,808 11,853 6 2,949
MI,E…. 37,517 25,551 184 3 11,779 442 230 177 3 32 37,075 25,321 7 11,747
MI,W…. 15,012 11,326 72 3 3,611 325 202 69 3 51 14,687 11,124 3 3,560
OH,N…. 40,341 33,090 128 – 7,123 1,035 782 125 – 128 39,306 32,308 3 6,995
OH,S…. 35,781 27,532 106 5 8,138 557 329 99 5 124 35,224 27,203 7 8,014
TN,E…. 19,466 11,904 74 4 7,484 320 189 70 4 57 19,146 11,715 4 7,427
TN,M…. 15,360 9,500 194 – 5,666 273 104 154 – 15 15,087 9,396 40 5,651
TN,W…. 27,984 8,037 124 2 19,821 232 96 103 2 31 27,752 7,941 21 19,790
CIRCUIT TOTAL TOTAL NON-
AND TOTAL CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP.
DISTRICT FILINGS 7 11 12 13 FILINGS* 7 11 12 13 FILINGS 7 11 13
7TH… 157,125 121,383 724 52 34,963 2,874 1,880 677 52 263 154,251 119,503 47 34,700
IL,N…. 55,985 39,360 385 1 16,237 831 466 356 1 6 55,154 38,894 29 16,231
IL,C…. 15,353 13,071 41 21 2,220 193 125 39 21 8 15,160 12,946 2 2,212
IL,S…. 8,859 6,304 26 8 2,521 286 173 23 8 82 8,573 6,131 3 2,439
IN,N…. 20,591 17,239 48 2 3,302 215 142 47 2 24 20,376 17,097 1 3,278
IN,S…. 32,095 25,156 159 – 6,780 491 304 153 – 34 31,604 24,852 6 6,746
WI,E…. 16,079 13,076 16 7 2,979 229 186 16 7 20 15,850 12,890 – 2,959
WI,W…. 8,163 7,177 49 13 924 629 484 43 13 89 7,534 6,693 6 835
8TH… 98,774 74,601 350 53 23,768 3,203 2,382 319 53 447 95,571 72,219 31 23,321
AR,E…. 14,546 7,646 22 2 6,876 131 72 14 2 43 14,415 7,574 8 6,833
AR,W…. 8,148 5,489 18 1 2,639 109 53 15 1 39 8,039 5,436 3 2,600
IA,N…. 4,451 4,272 15 2 162 198 173 14 2 9 4,253 4,099 1 153
IA,S…. 7,022 6,568 11 4 439 136 113 11 4 8 6,886 6,455 – 431
MN…… 19,655 16,337 56 6 3,256 1,825 1,501 55 6 263 17,830 14,836 1 2,993
MO,E…. 17,538 11,651 79 5 5,802 216 123 72 5 15 17,322 11,528 7 5,787
MO,W…. 15,270 12,319 84 2 2,865 226 107 81 2 36 15,044 12,212 3 2,829
NE…… 7,443 5,844 52 19 1,528 132 55 44 19 14 7,311 5,789 8 1,514
ND…… 2,028 1,940 8 9 71 108 87 8 9 4 1,920 1,853 – 67
SD…… 2,673 2,535 5 3 130 122 98 5 3 16 2,551 2,437 – 114
9TH… 279,561 226,434 2,163 58 50,890 9,319 5,502 1,891 58 1,854 270,242 220,932 272 49,036
AK…… 1,432 1,291 18 – 123 112 80 16 – 16 1,320 1,211 2 107
AZ…… 28,738 22,788 323 6 5,620 733 372 271 6 83 28,005 22,416 52 5,537
CA,N…. 20,719 14,512 260 – 5,945 1,277 706 241 – 329 19,442 13,806 19 5,616
CA,E…. 31,455 26,584 117 20 4,733 1,265 823 104 20 317 30,190 25,761 13 4,416
CA,C…. 84,936 70,142 614 1 14,170 2,545 1,806 561 1 169 82,391 68,336 53 14,001
CA,S…. 12,844 10,336 64 – 2,443 223 159 50 – 13 12,621 10,177 14 2,430
HI…… 4,684 4,181 21 – 482 57 38 19 – – 4,627 4,143 2 482
ID…… 8,686 7,440 64 8 1,174 287 171 52 8 56 8,399 7,269 12 1,118
MT…… 4,102 3,584 19 8 491 122 87 15 8 12 3,980 3,497 4 479
NV…… 19,095 14,000 312 – 4,782 447 147 281 – 18 18,648 13,853 31 4,764
OR…… 24,034 20,626 70 10 3,327 1,515 679 70 10 755 22,519 19,947 – 2,572
WA,E…. 10,059 7,596 87 5 2,371 295 169 62 5 59 9,764 7,427 25 2,312
WA,W…. 28,349 22,980 187 – 5,182 409 241 143 – 25 27,940 22,739 44 5,157
GUAM…. 400 350 6 – 44 26 19 5 – 2 374 331 1 42
NMI….. 28 24 1 – 3 6 5 1 – – 22 19 – 3
CIRCUIT TOTAL TOTAL NON-
AND TOTAL CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. CHAP. BUSINESS CHAP. CHAP. CHAP.
DISTRICT FILINGS 7 11 12 13 FILINGS* 7 11 12 13 FILINGS 7 11 13
10TH.. 91,306 74,488 413 53 16,350 2,750 1,987 390 53 318 88,556 72,501 23 16,032
CO…… 20,303 17,666 110 4 2,523 560 416 107 4 33 19,743 17,250 3 2,490
KS…… 14,519 11,790 48 18 2,663 243 148 45 18 32 14,276 11,642 3 2,631
NM…… 8,975 8,084 54 2 835 665 549 51 2 63 8,310 7,535 3 772
OK,N…. 6,374 5,808 24 – 542 322 275 21 – 26 6,052 5,533 3 516
OK,E…. 4,500 4,143 10 3 344 79 52 10 3 14 4,421 4,091 – 330
OK,W…. 12,959 10,985 41 20 1,912 252 173 39 20 19 12,707 10,812 2 1,893
UT…… 21,444 13,922 116 6 7,399 590 347 108 6 128 20,854 13,575 8 7,271
WY…… 2,232 2,090 10 – 132 39 27 9 – 3 2,193 2,063 1 129
11TH.. 206,719 115,487 1,113 15 90,098 3,470 1,977 995 15 479 203,249 113,510 118 89,619
AL,N…. 24,514 11,336 105 3 13,068 194 100 81 3 8 24,320 11,236 24 13,060
AL,M…. 9,552 4,900 12 – 4,640 133 99 10 – 24 9,419 4,801 2 4,616
AL,S…. 7,256 3,112 29 – 4,115 63 29 28 – 6 7,193 3,083 1 4,109
FL,N…. 6,394 5,047 36 – 1,311 74 40 34 – – 6,320 5,007 2 1,311
FL,M…. 51,706 37,314 304 2 14,085 961 555 280 2 124 50,745 36,759 24 13,961
FL,S…. 32,230 22,789 323 – 9,115 840 520 293 – 25 31,390 22,269 30 9,090
GA,N…. 41,945 19,169 213 – 22,563 914 489 186 – 239 41,031 18,680 27 22,324
GA,M…. 17,832 7,625 60 7 10,140 160 72 55 7 26 17,672 7,553 5 10,114
GA,S…. 15,290 4,195 31 3 11,061 131 73 28 3 27 15,159 4,122 3 11,034
* THESE FIGURES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING CASES NOT REFLECTED ELSEWHERE:
MA….. SECTION 304 = 01 NY,S… SECTION 304 = 27 NY,W… SECTION 304 = 01
DE….. SECTION 304 = 20 NJ….. SECTION 304 = 01 VA,W… SECTION 304 = 01
TX,N… CHAPTER 9 = 01 TX,S… CHAPTER 9 = 01 TX,W… SECTION 304 = 02
IL,N… SECTION 304 = 02 WI,E… SECTION 304 = 01 AR,W… CHAPTER 9 = 01
MO,E… CHAPTER 9 = 01 AZ….. SECTION 304 = 01 CA,N… SECTION 304 = 02
CA,E… CHAPTER 9 = 01 CA,C… CHAPTER 9 = 01 CA,C… SECTION 304 = 08
CA,S… SECTION 304 = 01 NV….. SECTION 304 = 01 OR….. SECTION 304 = 01
OK,W… SECTION 304 = 01 UT….. SECTION 304 = 01 AL,N… CHAPTER 9 = 02
FL,M… SECTION 304 = 01 FL,S… SECTION 304 = 03
[1]: http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/bk-localrules.html
