Legal Experts Expect Bankruptcy Rise in ’09
by January 12, 2009 12:00 am 48 views
A full count of bankruptcies in the state for calendar 2008 isn’t yet available from the U.S. Bankruptcy Clerk Office, but indications are that filings are on the rise.
As of November, there were 24,875 bankruptcy cases pending in Arkansas, with 8,575 in the Western Division, or about 34 percent. The Western Division includes El Dorado, Fort Smith, Harrison, Texarkana, Fayetteville and Hot Springs.
Judge Ben Barry, the only bankruptcy judge based in Fayetteville, said the filings are now up to about 2005 levels seen just before the law was enacted that makes filing bankruptcy more difficult.
Barry said he has more Chapter 11 cases in his system, which includes Fayetteville, Harrison and Fort Smith, than the three other judges combined.
Chapter 11 bankruptcies allow corporations to reorganize their debt.
John Alan Lewis is a partner with Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard’s Rogers office. He deals mostly in corporate bankruptcies and with lenders, and said all indications are that there will be a second wave of filings in 2009.