Jacksonville Division Bankruptcy Court One of the Busiest in the Nation
The Middle District of Florida U.S. Bankruptcy Court – with divisions in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers – is the second busiest bankruptcy court in the nation with more than 64,000 bankruptcy cases filed there in the past year. Only the Los Angeles district ranks higher for bankruptcy filings.
At a recent meeting of the Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association, Jacksonville Division Chief Bankruptcy Court Judge Paul Glenn said that while the economy is recovering slowly, bankruptcy filings in Florida could still grow because of the Gulf oil spill and the impact the current European economic downturn might have on the state’s international and trade-related businesses.
The judge said that total business bankruptcy filings – including Chapter 7 liquidation and Chapter 11 reorganization – totaled 3,210 in the Middle District of Florida courts in the past year. He also noted that 23 percent of Florida mortgages are currently in the process of foreclosure.
Approximately 10 million Florida residents are served by the Middle District of Florida U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which covers 35 Florida counties. The four divisions have a total of nine judges; at the current rate of 64,000 cases per year, the average caseload per judge is a staggering 7,000.
Greg Gilbert
Keith Maynard
