Last year I asked how many debtors file New York bankruptcy cases each year. The post provided context to a series I ran on the data from the 2016 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) Report. The 2017 BAPCPA report came out recently, but rather than repeat the question, I want to just focus on how 2017 differed from 2016 to see if there are any notable trends potential debtors should be aware of. The biggest one is that although bankruptcy filings fell nationally, they rose in New York State. The question is why.
The answer lies in a noticeable growth in bankruptcies, especially chapter 13 cases, in the Eastern District of New York, which covers Kings (Brooklyn), Richmond (Staten Island), Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. Here’s a table created from the Statistical Tables for the Federal Judiciary as of December 31, 2017 (“Statistical Tables”) that illustrates the numbers of bankruptcy filings by district.
| Number of Filings by District | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit and District | Total Filings | Total Chapter 7 | Total Chapter 9 | Total Chapter 11 | Total Chapter 12 | Total Chapter 13 | Total Chapter 15 |
| TOTAL (2016) | 794,960 | 490,365 | 8 | 7,292 | 461 | 296,655 | 179 |
| TOTAL (2017) | 789,020 | 486,347 | 7 | 7,442 | 501 | 294,637 | 86 |
| # CHANGE | (-5,940) | (-4,018) | (-1) | (+150) | (+40) | (-2,018) | (-93) |
| NY, E (2016) | 12,122 | 8,704 | 0 | 215 | 1 | 3,202 | 0 |
| NY, E (2017) | 15,081 | 9,301 | 0 | 376 | 0 | 5,404 | 0 |
| # CHANGE | (+2,959) | (+597) | (0) | (+161) | (-1) | (+2,202) | (0) |
| NY, S (2016) | 7,778 | 5,500 | 0 | 527 | 1 | 1,680 | 70 |
| NY, S (2017) | 8,023 | 5,403 | 0 | 597 | 2 | 1,966 | 55 |
| # CHANGE | (+245) | (-97) | (0) | (+70) | (+1) | (+286) | (-15) |
| Percent of Total Filings by District | |||||||
| Circuit and District | Total Filings | Total Chapter 7 | Total Chapter 9 | Total Chapter 11 | Total Chapter 12 | Total Chapter 13 | Total Chapter 15 |
| TOTAL (2016) | 100% | 62% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 37% | 0% |
| TOTAL (2017) | 100% | 62% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 37% | 0% |
| CHANGE IN % | N/A | (0%) | (0%) | (0%) | (0%) | (0%) | (0%) |
| NY, E (2016) | 100% | 72% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 26% | 0% |
| NY, E (2017) | 100% | 62% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 36% | 0% |
| CHANGE IN % | N/A | (-10%) | (0%) | (+1%) | (0%) | (+9%) | (0%) |
| NY, S (2016) | 100% | 71% | 0% | 7% | 0% | 22% | 1% |
| NY, S (2017) | 100% | 67% | 0% | 7% | 0% | 25% | 1% |
| CHANGE IN % | N/A | (-3%) | (0%) | (+1%) | (0%) | (+3%) | (0%) |
The changes in national bankruptcies is modest, not even a 1 percent decline from 2016, and two-thirds of it is in chapter 7 cases. The Eastern District was quite different. The number of bankruptcies rose 25 percent in one year. Chapter 7 filings were up 7 percent, but chapter 13 cases grew by 69 percent, which is pretty astonishing. The Southern District of New York also shows more bankruptcy cases in 2017, including chapter 13, but the change is much more modest.
The Statistical Tables also distinguish cases by the predominance of business over consumer debts. Here’s a version of that table.
| Circuit and District | Total Filings | Predominant Nature of Debt | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Filings | Nonbusiness Filings | |||||||||
| Total | Chapter 7 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Total | Chapter 7 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 13 | ||
| TOTAL (2016) | 794,960 | 24,114 | 15,033 | 6,174 | 461 | 2,259 | 770,846 | 475,332 | 1,118 | 294,396 |
| TOTAL (2017) | 789,020 | 23,157 | 14,157 | 6,350 | 501 | 2,056 | 765,863 | 472,190 | 1,092 | 292,581 |
| # CHANGE | (-5,940) | (-957) | (-876) | (+176) | (+40) | (-203) | (-4,983) | (-3,142) | (-26) | (-1,815) |
| NY, E (2016) | 12,122 | 496 | 313 | 182 | 1 | 0 | 11,626 | 8,391 | 33 | 3,202 |
| NY, E (2017) | 15,081 | 745 | 424 | 321 | 0 | 0 | 14,336 | 8,877 | 55 | 5,404 |
| # CHANGE | (+2,959) | (+249) | (+111) | (+139) | (-1) | (0) | (+2,710) | (+486) | (+22) | (+2,202) |
| NY, S (2016) | 7,778 | 857 | 255 | 500 | 1 | 31 | 6,921 | 5,245 | 27 | 1,649 |
| NY, S (2017) | 8,023 | 841 | 200 | 555 | 2 | 29 | 7,182 | 5,203 | 42 | 1,937 |
| # CHANGE | (+245) | (-16) | (-55) | (+55) | (+1) | (-2) | (+261) | (-42) | (+15) | (+288) |
The big takeaway is that nearly 20 percent of the rise in chapter 7 cases is actually attributable to business filings. Chapter 11 filings are up significantly as well. This suggests that broad economic problems in the Eastern District are responsible for causing the rise in bankruptcy filings, not just household debts.
The next question is whether these trends are affecting the entire Eastern District, or if they’re localized to any specific areas. The answer: Long Island bankruptcy is responsible for most of the problems, but the filing increases are widespread. Here’s one more table, from the Eastern District itself, that lists bankruptcies by county.
| Case Type | All | Kings | Queens | Richmond | Nassau | Suffolk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7 (2016) | 7,798 | 1,715 | 1,912 | 479 | 1,267 | 2,425 |
| Chapter 7 (2016) | 7,798 | 1,715 | 1,912 | 479 | 1,267 | 2,425 |
| Chapter 7 (2017) | 9,125 | 1,923 | 2,274 | 615 | 1,603 | 2,710 |
| # CHANGE | (+1,327) | (+208) | (+362) | (+136) | (+336) | (+285) |
| Chapter 11 (2016) | 182 | 90 | 36 | 7 | 29 | 20 |
| Chapter 11 (2017) | 278 | 105 | 75 | 10 | 47 | 41 |
| # CHANGE | (+96) | (+15) | (+39) | (+3) | (+18) | (+21) |
| Chapter 13 (2016) | 2,930 | 361 | 696 | 50 | 726 | 1,097 |
| Chapter 13 (2017) | 5,368 | 613 | 1,148 | 90 | 1,632 | 1,885 |
| # CHANGE | (+2,438) | (+252) | (+452) | (+40) | (+906) | (+788) |
| Totals (2016) | 10,910 | 2,166 | 2,644 | 536 | 2,022 | 3,542 |
| Totals (2017) | 14,771 | 2,641 | 3,497 | 715 | 3,282 | 4,636 |
| # CHANGE | (+3,861) | (+475) | (+853) | (+179) | (+1,260) | (+1,094) |
(Note these tables exclude the one or two chapter 12 and chapter 15 filings in these counties.)
Looking at the numbers closely, of the nearly 4,000 additional bankruptcy filings between 2016 and 2017, 44 percent were filed by Nassau County and Suffolk County debtors. In general, in 2017 there were two additional chapter 13 cases in the Eastern District for every new one filed in chapter 7.
The Statistical Tables can be found here, and the case-filing statistics for the Eastern District are here for 2016 and here for 2017.
The trend last year was clear: New Yorkers are increasingly turning to bankruptcy to resolve their debt problems. A debtor’s situation might not reflect trends in Brooklyn bankruptcy or Long Island bankruptcy, but if you feel you are struggling with debts, then you’re not alone, and talking to an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer can help you assess your options.
For answers to more questions about bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced bankruptcy attorney Brooklyn NY Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.
