Bankruptcy filings soar in Florida

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percent increase in filings in the for the Middle Districtt of Florida in the 12 monthss endedMarch 31, compared to the same period a year The increase in bankruptcy filings in the Middle District of Florids outpaced the national increase in bankruptcy filings. Nationally, bankruptcg filings for the 12-month period ending Marchj 31, 2009, were up 33.3 percent over bankruptcy filingws forthe 12-month period ending March 31, according to statistics released by the administratives office of the U.S. Courts. In the Middlew District of Florida, there were 47,04e bankruptcy filings in the 12 monthss endedMarch 31, 2009, compared to 30,031 in the year endede March 31, 2008.
There had been 18,016 bankruptcy filings in the year endedMarcu 31, 2007. During the quarter ended March 31, there were 13,3312 total filings in the Middle Districgof Florida, including 9,687 Chapter 7 127 Chapter 11 filings, and 3,51 3 Chapter 13 filings. There were 683 business bankruptciesx filed in the quarter endedMarch 31, includinv 507 businesses that sought to liquidate througbh Chapter 7, and 116 that sought to reorganize their debts through Chapter 11. There also were a totap of 12,649 non-business bankruptcies filed in the three monthd endedMarch 31.