The Bankruptcy Courts recently published annual statistics for bankruptcy filings. In 2016, the number of filings declined to its lowest level since 2006, though the rate of decline slowed compared to the annual rates in the years 2011 – 2015. In the Northern District of California, filings were down about ten percent overall in 2016 compared to 2015. Of 4,734 filings in the Northern District, only 557 were reported as 2016 business filings. These data do not include business-related filings in Delaware by California-based companies. The national data can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/news/2017/01/25/bankruptcy-filings-fall-59-reach-lowest-level-2006.
While not determinative of any national or state trends, we have observed in our own practice an increase in the number of bankruptcy cases in which we represent creditors in various capacities. That increase was more pronounced in the second half of 2016. Those cases include several filed by California-based companies incorporated in Delaware. Should a filing occur, Hopkins & Carley attorneys stand ready to assist in protecting our client’s interests in bankruptcy venues in California and elsewhere