Bankruptcy filings ease after March's record high
POSTED: Friday, May 01, 2009
A total of 249 bankruptcy cases were filed last month in Hawaii compared with 158 cases in April 2008 — a nearly 58 percent increase.
But last month's total was an 8 percent drop from March's 270 total cases — the most monthly bankruptcy filings since October 2005, according to records from federal court.
Bankruptcies Up
Filings in April increased from a year earlier:
Chapter 7: liquidation Chapter 11: primarily business reorganizations Chapter 13: individuals with regular source of income set up plans to pay creditors over time
Source: Office of the U.S. Trustee
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The bulk of April's filings were the 191 Chapter 7 liquidation cases.
Although businesses can file Chapter 7, most of the cases filed last month were filed by individuals and couples.
Chapter 7 cases rose 54 percent over the 124 filings in April 2008.
The sole Chapter 11 business reorganization case last month was filed by Reliable Foods Inc. of Maui.
The most dramatic jump in filings, 72.7 percent, came with the 57 Chapter 13 cases, which allow individuals with regular income to establish plans to pay creditors over time.
The cases marked a sharp increase over the 38 Chapter 13 filings in March.
The last time so many Chapter 13 cases were filed in a single month was last September.
Since 2004, the only month that saw a higher number of Chapter 13 cases was October 2005, when 86 cases were filed.
That month there was a rush to file before a new law took effect making it costlier and more difficult to seek bankruptcy relief, and 1,463 cases were filed.
