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Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by U.S. businesses surged 50 percent last year, outpacing the increase for individuals.
More than 15,000 businesses filed Chapter 11 petitions to reorganize or liquidate in bankruptcy court in 2009, according to data compiled from court records by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records. Including smaller businesses in Chapter 7 liquidations, commercial bankruptcy filings climbed 38 percent from 2008. Both figures were more than double the total in 2007.
The 207 bankruptcies in 2009 by publicly traded companies were the third-highest since 1980, according to BankruptcyData.com. Public companies filing bankruptcy last year reported almost $600 billion in assets, the second-largest on record, although half those of 2008’s record $1.2 trillion.
Total U.S. bankruptcy filings, including individuals, jumped 32 percent to almost 1.44 million, said AACER, a service of Oklahoma City-based Jupiter ESources LLC. Arizona had the largest increase, at 77 percent, with Nevada second at 59 percent. Per capita, the most filings were in Nevada, followed by Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Indiana.
Bankruptcy filings still trailed the record of 2.1 million set in 2005, when 630,000 Americans sought protection in the two weeks before revisions to federal bankruptcy laws that October made it more difficult for individuals to erase debts.
Congress sought in 2005 to force more Americans to use Chapter 13 bankruptcy, in which a bankrupt must repay at least some debts. Last year, Chapter 13 filings represented 28 percent of the total, down from 33 percent in 2008.
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