South Florida Business Bankruptcies Highest Since At Least 1990

[Purveyor]

More South Florida businesses headed to bankruptcy court last year than at any time since at least 1990.

There were 1,403 business bankruptcy filings recorded in 2008 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, which encompasses nine South Florida counties. That's an 80 percent increase from the 778 business bankruptcy filings in 2007 and the most since 1,138 were filed in 1992, the previous high. Figures prior to 1990 are not posted on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's website.

Meanwhile, 18,826 consumer filings were recorded in 2008 in South Florida, a 71.5 percent increase from 2007. Still, that's far below the record 35,983 filings recorded in 2005 when filers beat a path to the courthouse in advance of changes in the bankruptcy laws.

Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/839092.html