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Bankruptcy filings surged locally in '07
By Times Staff
Published January 3, 2008
Here's another sign the Tampa Bay economy is slowing: The bankruptcy business is booming. New filings in the Tampa division of U.S. Bankruptcy Court jumped 75 percent last year, numbers released Wednesday show. The 13,171 new cases were the most since major changes in bankruptcy law two years ago made filing more difficult. The Tampa division accounted for about half the 26,087 new cases in Florida's middle district. Filings were up 93 percent in Orlando and 43 percent in Jacksonville. Bankruptcy lawyers and judges say problems in the mortgage and housing markets are major reasons for the surge. Another reason is greater awareness that bankruptcy is still available. The biggest difference under the new law is that many people with above-average incomes end up in five-year debt-repayment plans instead of getting immediate discharge of their debts.
[Last modified January 2, 2008, 23:05:24]
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