U.S. Bankruptcy Courts — Judicial Business 2019

Nonbusiness (i.e., largely consumer) petitions, which accounted for approximately 97 percent of all petitions, grew less than 1 percent to 753,764. Business petitions, which amounted to 3 percent of all petitions, rose 4 percent to 22,910.

Bankruptcy petitions may be filed under one of six chapters of the Bankruptcy Code. Most consumer petitions were filed under chapter 7 or under chapter 13. Most business petitions were filed under chapter 7 or under chapter 11.

Filings under chapter 7 increased 1 percent to 482,831 and constituted 62 percent of all cases filed. Nonbusiness chapter 7 filings, which accounted for 97 percent of all chapter 7 cases filed, also rose 1 percent and amounted to 62 percent of all nonbusiness filings. These proportions were the same in 2018. Business chapter 7 petitions went up 5 percent and constituted 63 percent of all business cases filed, compared with 62 percent in 2018.

Cases filed under chapter 13 fell 1 percent to 286,027. These petitions accounted for 37 percent of all filings. Nonbusiness chapter 13 petitions also declined 1 percent, dropping to 284,258 and amounting to 38 percent of all nonbusiness petitions. Business chapter 13 petitions decreased 7 percent from 2018 and represented 8 percent of all business cases filed, down from 9 percent in 2018.

Chapter 11 filings increased 1 percent to 7,105. Chapter 11 cases, which typically require significantly more court resources than do cases filed under chapter 7 or chapter 13, accounted for 1 percent of all filings. The 6,096 business chapter 11 petitions amounted to 27 percent of all business cases filed, unchanged from 2018.

The three remaining chapters of the Bankruptcy Code—chapter 9, chapter 12, and chapter 15–collectively accounted for less than 1 percent of all petitions filed.

Bankruptcy filings increased in five circuits: the Second Circuit (up 4 percent), Fifth Circuit (up 3 percent), Eleventh Circuit (up 2 percent), Ninth Circuit (up 1 percent), and Sixth Circuit (up less than 1 percent). Seven circuits had reductions in cases filed. The districts constituting the Third Circuit had a combined drop in filings of 3 percent, and the districts in the Tenth Circuit saw petition filings decline 2 percent.

The federal Judiciary has 90 bankruptcy courts, one in each judicial district except for the Districts of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (where bankruptcy cases are heard by a district court judge or a visiting bankruptcy judge), and the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas (which share a bankruptcy court). In 2019, 44 of the 90 bankruptcy courts reported more filings compared with the previous year. The Middle District of Florida had the largest numeric rise, an increase of 2,429 cases (10 percent higher than in 2018), which was attributed to damages from hurricanes in 2019.

The number of bankruptcy cases terminated fell 3 percent to 788,667. As terminations outpaced filings, pending cases dropped 1 percent to 1,015,179.

For data on activity in the U.S. bankruptcy courts, see the F series of tables.

Adversary Proceedings

Adversary proceedings are separate civil lawsuits that arise in bankruptcy cases, including actions to object to or revoke discharges, to obtain injunctions or other equitable relief, and to determine the dischargeability of debt. Adversary proceedings may be associated with consumer bankruptcy cases, but most arise in cases filed under chapter 11. Because of time limits imposed by Section 546 of the bankruptcy code, the number of adversary proceedings filed usually is related to the number of chapter 11 cases filed two years earlier.

In 2019, filings of adversary proceedings declined 1 percent to 23,907. This was 30 percent below the total for 2015. Forty-six of the 90 bankruptcy courts reported lower filings, and 27 districts had reductions of 20 percent or more (compared to 32 districts in 2018). The largest numeric decrease was a reduction of 708 filings (down 58 percent to 510) in the District of Delaware; previously, that district had closed 4 chapter 11 bankruptcy cases with 85 or more adversary proceeding filings that each had been filed in 2018.

Filings of adversary proceedings rose in 42 bankruptcy courts, with 22 districts registering gains of 20 percent or more (compared with 19 districts in 2018). The District of New Jersey reported the largest numeric growth, an increase of 699 filings (up 103 percent), with most arising from a chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in 2019 by Imerys Talc America, Inc.

Terminations of adversary proceedings declined 4 percent to 24,838. Pending adversary proceedings dropped 1 percent to 24,038.

Data on adversary proceedings in the bankruptcy courts can be found in Table F-8.