US bankruptcy filings rose 35 percent over the 12 months ending June 30 as the recession took a steep toll on households and businesses, the office that oversees US courts said on Thursday. Some 1.3 million bankruptcy cases were filed in US courts between July 2008 and June 2009, up from the 968,000 that were filed in the same period a year earlier, the Administrative Office of the US Courts said.
Business bankruptcies, like the high-profile collapse of General Motors Co and Chrysler LLC, totalled 55,000, while non-business filings totalled 1.25 million, the courts office said. Filings increased among all types of bankruptcies. Chapter 7 filings, which require debtors to sell their non-exempt property, rose 47 percent to 908,000.
Chapter 13 filings, which enable wage earners to come up with a plan to repay debtors, rose 12 percent to 384,000. Chapter 11 filings, used to reorganise bankrupt businesses, rose 91 percent to 14,000. Chapter 12 filings, used by farmers or fishermen, rose 34 percent to 422.