Bankruptcies soar in Florida

According to a recently released report from the Clerk of the Middle District of Florida, the MDFL is the sixth busiest bankruptcy court (out of 90 courts) in the nation. The five courts busier than the MDFL are Eastern District of Michigan, Northern District of Georgia, Central District of California, Northern District of Ohio and Northern District of Illinois.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), has not slowed down bankruptcies one bit. After an initial decline in the months following the enactment, bankruptcy filings in the MDFL rose 70% in 2007!

BAPCPA has forced more motions and orders to be filed in every case, and the total number of docket entries is back up to pre-BAPCPA levels. Additionally, BAPCPA demands far more statistical reporting than the old law and forces deputy clerks to undergo “substantive training.”

Despite the rising caseload and complex reporting requirements, the clerk’s office has been forced to cut staff. In 2008, authorized clerk positions in the MDFL will decrease by more than 40% from 2006 levels. That means a substantial increase in work load for the deputy clerks that are not fired - not exactly conducive for a happy work environment.

Certainly, short-sighted Congressmen and Senators didn’t see this coming when they allowed the credit industry to rewrite the bankruptcy laws a few years back. Then again, considering the way Washington has handled the collapse of the credit markets, does this result come as a surprise to anyone?

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