Business bankruptcies jump 64% compared with year ago - Washington Business Journal: Washington Bureau

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The number of business filings was up 11 percentf over the total for the fourtbh quarterof 2008, according to the Administrative Officde of the U.S. Courts. Nearly 10,000 of the businesds filings in the first quarter were Chapter 7 Chapter 11 reorganizations accountedfor 3,421 filings. Overalpl bankruptcy filings, including personal totaled 330,447 in the first quarterr of 2009, up nearly 35 percent from the same periord ayear earlier. For the 12-month periodf that ended March 31, more than 1.2 millio n bankruptcies were filed -- the highest 12-month totakl since Congress tightened bankruptcyu rules inOctober 2006.
"Asa unemployment figures continue to rise and financingremainss elusive, we expect filings to surge past 1.4 milliom cases by year-end," said Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute. Tennessee had the highestr per-capita rate of bankruptcy filings in thefirsr quarter, followed by Nevada, Alabama, Georgiqa and Indiana. Judicial districts with the highest percentagse increase in filings included the Central Districytof California, Delaware, Arizona, the Southern District of Nevada and the Eastern District of California.
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