The number of cases filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Florida fell about 10% in December and are down 21% in January compared with the numbers of the prior year. Judge Glenn, the Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the District said February will probably be slightly lower than the prior year.
Nationally, there were 90,000 bankruptcy filings. Generally, in recent years, the filings have exceeded 100,000 per month. In Tampa, there were 1405 Bankruptcy filings in January 2011 and 1768 Bankruptcy filings in January 2010.
Bankruptcies fell throughout the United States after Congress passed the 2005 Bankruptcy Law that many thought made it harder to file Bankruptcy. Since 2005, Bankruptcy filings have increased annually.
A number of Bankruptcy observers have opined that Bankruptcy filings should again increase as the Mortgage Companies increase the number of Foreclosure filings against homeowners. A number of Foreclosures were temporarily stopped after it was discovered that banks and their attorneys were filing fraudulent and incomplete paperwork against homeowners, leading to state and federal investigations. Many of these issues have been resolved, and the number of Foreclosures is again increasing.
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