Pierce County personal and business bankruptcies fell in 2011 from 2010, likely a welcome bit of economic news for the county after it battled plunging home values and high unemployment for most of the year.
Bankruptcies in Pierce County fell 3.6 percent to 4,840 filings in 2011 from 5,025 filings in 2010, according to year-end data compiled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. Although bankruptcy filings trended in the right direction, the 2011 totals were still more than the 4,428 bankruptcies in 2009, the data show.
From 2008 to 2009, filings in Pierce County soared 44 percent to 4,428 from 3,076, likely because of contributing factors tied to the economic meltdown in fall 2008.
Meanwhile, of those 4,840 filings in 2011, 3,616 were Chapter 7 filings, followed by 47 Chapter 11 filings, one Chapter 12 filing and 1,176 Chapter 13 filings. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is considered a straight liquidation, while Chapter 11 typically is filed by a corporation looking to restructure its debts. Chapter 12 filings are reserved for family farms and Chapter 13 usually involves some sort of repayment plan.
Total bankruptcy filings in the Western District also fell in the year-over-year period, down 4.4 percent to 25,690 from 26,887, the data show. The Western District covers all of Western Washington.
In Thurston County, though, bankruptcy filings remained on an upward trend, climbing 4.25 percent to 1,324 in 2011 from 1,270 in 2010, the data show. Although the total number of filings is higher, the percentage change was not nearly as extreme in 2009/2008 when filings rose 37.6 percent to 1,152 from 837 in 2008.
Olympia bankruptcy attorney Jennie Patton, however, was surprised that filings had increased in Thurston County because activity at her office has slowed and has slowed for her colleagues as well, she said.
Although slower, that doesn’t mean that good times are back. “I’m not ready to say the economy is improving,” she said.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com
