Jacksonville Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Climb
According to a recent article in the Jacksonville Business Journal, Jacksonville bankruptcy filings for the first half of 2010 are at the highest level since the new bankruptcy laws were enacted in 2005, making it harder for consumers to fill bankruptcy and creating a surge in new cases before the new law went into effect.
During the first six months of 2010, bankruptcy filings in the Middle District of Florida, which includes Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, were up over 15 percent from the same period one year ago. Personal bankruptcies – Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases – were up over seven percent.
The largest percentage increase in Middle District of Florida bankruptcy filings was for Chapter 11, or business bankruptcies. A total of 440 businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the first half of 2010; over 25 percent of those cases were filed in Jacksonville, including several high-profile real estate filings by the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach and the Shoppes of Lakeside in Neptune Beach.
One reason for the high number of commercial real estate filings is the number of lease defaults that commercial property owners have suffered during the economic crisis. In some instances, defaults on leases have forced more commercial properties into Chapter 11.
Greg Gilbert
Keith Maynard
