2009: Year of the Mega-Case?

22 Jun 2009: Year of the Mega-Case?

Last Monday’s “Credit Slips” blog features a brief piece by Seton Hall’s Steve Lubben, who cites bankruptcydata.com for what by any measure is a remarkable statistic: Year-to-date, US Bankruptcy Courts have seen no less than 35 Chapter 11 cases involving debtors with assets of $1B or more.

That’s nearly six billion-dollar filings per month.

According to Lubben, it’s also more than all of 2008’s “mega-cases” combined.  Just as interesting, however, is Lubben’s comment on the “ripple effect” created by these cases:

I think we can expect that the collective, collateral effect of these cases on trade creditors, landlords, and employees will equal, if not exceed, the effects of the better-known cases.  This will in turn create a ripple of small business bankruptcy cases . . . .

Here at South Bay Law Firm, we couldn’t agree more.