Huge Decline in California Bankruptcy Filings

The federal bankruptcy courts publish detailed statistics on bankruptcy filings.  California has four federal judicial districts, with Fresno located in the Eastern District.

The 2011-2014 bankruptcy filings for the Eastern District of California show a substantial decline, as shown in this table:

  E.D. Cal. total filings Chapter 7 cases
Chapter 11 cases
Chapter 12 cases
Chapter 13 cases
2014 24,030   19,634   109   18   4,269  
2013 32,635   25,930   187   30   6,487  
2012 42,850   33,761   201   37   8,846  
2011 53,888   42,957   234   38   10,659  
 Decrease 55%   54%   53%   53%   60%  

 

What does this mean for the future?  Hard to tell, as the Central Valley remains in the grip of a years-long drought.  Agricultural revenues will remain depressed, which will not help the local economy.