In 2010, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California surpassed 142,000 bankruptcy filings. The total bankruptcy petitions received in the district were the highest in the nation and established a new record high.
Bankruptcy Filings Increase for the Fourth Consecutive Year, Setting a New Record High
Bankruptcy filings during 2010 increased for the fourth consecutive year. A total of 142,789 new bankruptcy cases were filed in 2010, a 31.4 percent increase over the 108,651 filings in 2009 and 117 percent increase over filings in 2008. The increase in the number of total filings primarily resulted from a large increase in Chapter 7 and 13 filings. Chapter 7 filings increased by 30.9 percent, while Chapter 13 filings increased by 34.9 percent. Chapter 11 filings were nearly identical to 2009, with a slight decrease of 0.4 percent.
The total number of bankruptcy filings received in 2010 set a new record high, surpassing the 120,987 bankruptcy filings received in 1998 by 18 percent.
Central District of California Leads the Nation in Bankruptcy Filings for the Third Consecutive Year
For the third consecutive year, the Court led the nation in total bankruptcy filings. According to the national filing data released by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Central District of California received 114 percent more bankruptcy filings than the Middle District of Florida, the second largest district. Additionally, the Central District of California led the nation with the highest total of Chapter 7, 11, and 13, Business, and Non-Business filings.
More than One in Four Bankruptcy Petitions Filed in the Central District of California in 2010 Pro Se
The percentage of bankruptcy cases filed in the Central District of California by debtors without the assistance of an attorney, or pro se, increased from 24.4 percent in 2009 to 26 percent in 2010. This was the third consecutive year in which the percentage of pro se debtors increased. Overall, the district received 37,132 pro se bankruptcy filings, 29 percent of all pro se bankruptcy filings throughout the nation in 2010. The total number of pro se bankruptcy filings in the Central District of California surpassed the totals of each judicial circuit.
