In a recent report, the Administrative Office for the US Courts said that the bankruptcy rate has fallen by 8% between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011. Indiana State also saw a drop in bankruptcies year on year for the fiscal year ending September 30.
There were 1,467,221 bankruptcy filings throughout the country in the latest year compared to the 1,596,355 million filed the year before. This year, there were 10% less Chapter 7 filings and 4% less Chapter 13 filings whereas Chapter 11 filings fell by a significant 16%. In the latest report on the fiscal fourth quarter, the number of bankruptcy filings fell by 15% compared to the same period last year.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is where the debtor liquidates all disposable assets to pay off debts while Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a court approved payment plan for individuals to pay off their debts over a period of up to 5 years. And chapter 11 bankruptcy is for businesses to reorganize their finances to repay their debts.
In the state of Indiana, a total of 48,438 bankruptcies were filed last year in the fiscal year ending September 30. This included 983 business bankruptcies. But this year during the same period, the number of bankruptcies came up to 41,199 bankruptcies, including 775 business bankruptcies. The lower number of business bankruptcies is largely due to the fact that banks are now more willing to give time to businesses to pay up their debts rather than initiate bankruptcy proceedings.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, said there was a 10% drop in bankruptcy filings overall according to official figures. Last year, there were a total of 161,182 bankruptcy filings compared to 145,018 in the most recent year.
The Northern District of Indiana’s bankruptcy filings fell by 15.7%, from 19,538 to 16,477. Out of these, the number of Chapter 7 filings declined by 16%, while the Chapter 13 filings fell by 13.4%. There was also good news for the Southern District where overall filings went down by 14.5%, to 24,727 from 28,905 a year ago. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings also fell by 13.8% while Chapter 13 filings declined by 15.5%.
As a result of these improved figures, Indiana’s national bankruptcy rating also improved to seventh in the number of overall filings in the most recent year, compared to fourth the year before. At the same time, Indiana also rose from third to sixth in Chapter 7 filings and dropped from 10th to 11th in Chapter 13 filings.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Nov 14th, 2011. Comment. 
Southern Montana Electric (SME) Generation and Transmission Cooperative Board, a wholesale electric company made up of five rural electric co-ops in Central and Southern Montana, has filed for bankruptcy citing ‘acute cash flow problems’ as the reason. At the same time, three members of the board voted to raise electricity rates by 20%. This has been the fourth increase since December. However, some other board members claim they were kept in the dark. Dave Kelsey, an SME board member from the Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative said, “We had no clue this bankruptcy thing was coming. We should have been alerted to it.”
The five cooperatives that make up Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission are Yellowstone Valley in Huntley, Beartooth in Red Lodge, Fergus in Lewistown, Tongue River in Ashland and Mid-Yellowstone in Hysham. Among them, Yellowstone Valley and Electric City Power of Great Falls has sued to terminate their association with SME but the bankruptcy proceedings will take precedence over the lawsuits.
On the other hand, the bankruptcy filing also put a stop to SME’s efforts to apply for a loan of up to $300 million to complete the phase two of the Highwood Generating Station. This project alone cost co-op members millions of dollars because it was changed from a coal-fired plant to a natural gas-fired plant.
It appears the voting to file for bankruptcy and raise the rates was carried out under somewhat acrimonious conditions. The five member board voted 3 to 2 to include a new board member, Arleen Boyd representing the Beartooth co-op. As a result, the board members from Yellowstone Valley and Electric City Power walked out in protest. After that, the remaining 3 board members voted for bankruptcy and upping the rates. The bankruptcy filing was done last Friday.
Great Falls City Commisioner, Bob Jones commented that the vote may have lacked the necessary quorum. He said, “You’d think something of this magnitude, they would have called a special meeting. It wasn’t on the agenda. Everything is secretive.” But board attorney Jon Doak advised the remaining members that they had a quorum because the meeting had started with five members.
According to bankruptcy papers, SME owes nearly $7.6 million to PPL EnergyPlus and $1.16 million to the Bonneville Power Administration. It also lists a debt of $4.85 million in credit lines, $4.29 million in construction costs, nearly $1 million in engineering costs and more than $330,000 in legal fees.
Yellowstone Valley general manager Terry Holzer contends that SME bought too much power from PPL such that it had to sell the excess into the market, resulting a loss of about $9 million from April through August.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Oct 24th, 2011. Comment.
Automaker Saab found itself in a crisis when a Swedish court did not approve its bankruptcy protection application Thursday. This spells trouble as Saab is likely to face bankruptcy action against it by trade union workers within the next few days.
Saab has been in financial trouble since General Motors sold its holding company, Spyker Cars in the Netherlands in 2010. Spyker Cars acquired Saab, and then changed its name to Swedish Automobile. Swedish Automobile says it will appeal the ruling brought by the Vanersborg District Court. It has been given until September 29 to do so.
As their financial woes deepened, Saab struggled to meet its financial obligations. It was unable to pay salaries to its 3,700 workers and its debts to its suppliers. Production in its Trolhattan plant ground to a halt earlier this year.
It is uncertain if the Swedish court will approve Saab’s request for bankruptcy protection. Meanwhile, trade unions representing Saab’s 3,700 workers say they will initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Saab as the workers have still to be paid their August salaries.
Sweden has bankruptcy laws that are similar with the US. Their bankruptcy legislation is much like our Chapter 11 that allows financially troubled companies to reorganize their companies, improve their financial standing and restructure their debts to avoid liquidation. When a company receives bankruptcy protection, the Swedish government underwrites to pay the salaries of its employees.
But with Swedish Automobile, although it has submitted its bankruptcy protection application and restructuring plans to the court last Wednesday, it failed to convince the court that it had enough financial backing to stay afloat. Swedish Automobile is hoping certain Chinese investors, namely Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co will pump in as much as $344 million to enable it to continue operations. The Chinese investors are now awaiting approval from the relevant authorities.
According to the Swedish court, it was not clear if and when the Chinese authorities would approve the agreements. In addition, other solutions presented by Saab do not appear to be sustainable, either.
Bankruptcy negotiations can be extremely complex. You need an experienced bankruptcy attorney to navigate the many challenges for you for you to be successful in your bankruptcy application. If you need a bankruptcy attorney, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Sep 10th, 2011. Comment.
The federal court system assists those who are filling bankruptcy by helping them to get rid of their debt. A business or an individual can file bankruptcy and attempt to get rid of all their debt by going through the federal court system. In order to file this type of bankruptcy you must give up all of your property and sell it to pay off your debt. During a bankruptcy process an individual's assets is liquidated The state of Florida has certain bankruptcy exemptions that keep creditors from being able to take certain types of property. If you are thinking about starting a bankruptcy procedure it is important to know about these laws. Filing bankruptcy is not an easy decision but both federal and Florida state laws provide helpful exemptions.
By studying each exemption bankruptcy candidates can understand exactly what is protected by law. Most people generally wonder where they will take their family after their home is seized. The Florida Homestead Exemption makes sure your home is protected from creditors. Creditors cannot seize your home during bankruptcy procedures because it is protected by Florida state law. However, there are a few stipulations that go along with this exemption.
All property that is located in the city and it exempted cannot be larger than 1/2 acre. If these conditions are met, you, your spouse or even your child can claim the property as a debt during a bankruptcy and it is protected under the Homestead Exemption. This is how people who file bankruptcy are still able to keep their million dollar homes. Regardless of the amount of money you owe or the value of your home you are allowed to keep possession. Your pension or retirement is protected from bankruptcy proceedings in Florida.
According to bankruptcy laws creditors cannot seize your retirement, disability or any other government assistance income that you receive. Most people feel a little more comfortable after they realize that their pensions they have worked so hard for cannot be liquidated by creditors. If you receive workers compensation, alimony, child support or unemployment and have to file bankruptcy these funds will not be included in the proceedings. Creditors cannot touch these types of accounts where you have put aside money for your children's college. Accounts where you have put aside money for your child are not involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Money that you input into a Medical Savings Account is secure during bankruptcy. Anyone who is filing bankruptcy in Florida should understand their options.
A bankruptcy lawyer or even an online website can provide you with vital information before you get started. The exemptions are designed to help Florida residents so each and every resident of the state is eligible to take full advantage of them. Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney, Darrin T. Mish has been helping debtors with debt problems for over a decade. At the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Center we really care! To get more information on your bankruptcy options visit his website at: http://tampabankruptcy.pro.
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Filed under Uncategorized by on Aug 26th, 2011. Comment.
Bankruptcy is the term replied when individuals or businesses get rid of all their debt with the help of the federal court system. During this process individuals give up all of their property and it is sold in order to pay off all of their debts. This is referred to as a liquidation of assets. Certain Florida exemptions keep creditors from being able to seize property during the bankruptcy process. Anyone who is contemplating filing for bankruptcy should be aware of these exemption laws. Bankruptcy is never an easy process but there are both federal and state laws that provide helpful exemptions.
Each exemption explains in great detail what is not included in bankruptcy. One of the first questions that people ask is what is going to happen to my family and me and my home is taken. The Florida Homestead Exemption makes sure your home is protected from creditors. According to Florida law during a bankruptcy procedure your home is protected and creditors cannot take it. You should be aware of the stipulations that exist for this exemption.
Any property that is located in the city must not be larger than 1/2 acre. If these conditions are met, you, your spouse or even your child can claim the property as a debt during a bankruptcy and it is protected under the Homestead Exemption. Even after filing bankruptcy individuals can hold on to their expensive real estate. Regardless of how much money your home is worth you get a chance to keep it. When individuals go through bankruptcy proceedings in Florida their pension is protected.
For those people who receive a disability check or contribute to a retirement account their funds are protected from seizure. Your pension or retirement account cannot be taken by your bankruptcy creditors to pay your debts. If you receive workers compensation, alimony, child support or unemployment and have to file bankruptcy these funds will not be included in the proceedings. Parents should know that if they have any Prepaid College Funds for their kids that these are exempt from bankruptcy. Accounts where you have put aside money for your child are not involved in bankruptcy proceedings. In addition any money that you have put into a Medical Savings Account is safe and secure under the Florida exemption laws. If you are filing bankruptcy in Florida you should be aware of your options.
A trained bankruptcy lawyer or even an informational website can provide you with helpful information to get you started. The exemptions are designed to help Florida residents so each and every resident of the state is eligible to take full advantage of them. Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney, Darrin T. Mish has been helping debtors with debt problems for over a decade. At the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Center we really care! To get more information on your bankruptcy options visit his website at: http://tampabankruptcy.pro.
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Filed under Uncategorized by on Aug 26th, 2011. Comment.
