Epiq, a global leader in legal services, released its November bankruptcy filing statistics from its AACER business. The total number of new U.S. bankruptcy filings across all chapters was 34,440 for the month, which is the lowest monthly total since January 2006. New Chapter 11 commercial filings in November were up 40% with 654 new cases compared to 449 from the same period last year.

For the first time since February 2006, new U.S. bankruptcy filings fall below 35,000

NEW YORK – DEC. 3, 2020 – Epiq, a global leader in legal services, released its November bankruptcy filing statistics from its AACER business. The total number of new U.S. bankruptcy filings across all chapters was 34,440 for the month, which is the lowest monthly total since January 2006. New Chapter 11 commercial filings in November were up 40% with 654 new cases compared to 449 from the same period last year.

“These historic low bankruptcy filings reflect the overall uncertainty about our economic recovery. Bankruptcy is a legal tool to restructure but in this unknown financial environment the benefit from seeking bankruptcy protection is unclear for individuals, families, and even large companies,” said Deirdre O’Connor, managing director of corporate restructuring at Epiq. “Assuming that we are only experiencing the ‘middle’ of the impact of this pandemic, we are in the calm before the storm.”

Chapter 13 non-commercial filings in 2020 are down 45% with 137,764 filings, which is down from 252,660 filings for the same period in 2019. Chapter 7 non-commercial filings in 2020 are down 21% in 2020 with 325,716 filings, which is down from 414,625 for the same period in 2019.

“Non-commercial bankruptcy filing activity hit a 14-year low in November at the same time that the U.S. economy reached record high levels,” said Chris Kruse, senior vice president of Epiq AACER. “As the country continues to battle a surging coronavirus pandemic, liquidity in the form of government programs and state eviction moratoriums continues to delay new personal filings.”

About Epiq AACER
Epiq AACER provides a bankruptcy information services platform built with superior data, technology, and expertise to create insights and mitigate risks for businesses impacted by bankruptcies. Learn more at www.aacer.com

About Epiq
Epiq, a global leader in the legal services industry, takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at https://www.epiqglobal.com.

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