According to a press release by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the total number of bankruptcy filings for the three-month period from June 30, 2005 to September 30, 2005 represented the greatest number of filings recorded for any quarter in the history of the bankruptcy law. During the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2005, 1,782,643 bankruptcies were filed, up from the 1,618,987 bankruptcy cases filed in fiscal year 2004.

According to the AOUSC, the increase in filings is due to the many individuals who filed for bankruptcy before the October 17, 2005 implementation date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. Nonbusiness bankruptcies for the 2005 fiscal year rose 10 percent compared to the prior year. In contrast, business bankruptcies for the 2005 fiscal year fell 2 percent to 34,222, from the 34,817 business bankruptcies filed the prior year. Chapter 11 filings dropped 36 percent for this period, with only 6,637 new filings for the 2005 fiscal year.

The AOUSC press release can be accessed by clicking here.

Written by: Mette Kurth