News

August Bankruptcy Filings Decline in WNY & Nation

Posted: September 03, 2010

Buffalo, NY – Western New York was one of the first regions in the country to see decreases in consumer bankruptcy filings, but it took until August for the nationwide trend towards increases to make a sharp turn. National numbers showed an 8 percent decrease in August compared to the month of July, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).

ABI said that although filings decreased this August compared to July 2010, there was still an increase of 8 percent compared to August 2009.

Locally, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York, during the period August 1, 2010 to August 31, 3010, filings were down 13 percent for the District, 20 percent in the greater Buffalo area, and 2 percent in the greater Rochester area compared to the same month in 2009.

“We’ve been experiencing decreases in filings over the past several months here in Western New York,” said Jeffrey Freedman, senior partner, Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law, “whereas this is the first sign of decline in the rest of the country.

“It’s a sign that the recession did not hit as hard here as it has in other areas – and what is significant is that even though we are now seeing decreases nationwide, filings are still the highest they’ve been since Congress revised the bankruptcy law in 2005. This is despite the fact that the new law made it more difficult and more expensive to file bankruptcy.”

According to the ABI, national filings are on track to exceed 1.6 million this year.

« Return to all news