Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings in Orange County, October 2009

November 9, 2009 · Posted by Alex

From the Curtis Law Group Blog:

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings for residents of  Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County continue to be high, as local bankruptcy attorneys can attest.  Although few cities in these counties are immune, the concentration of chapter 7 filings tend to be higher in some cities more than others.

The Orange County cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed during October 2009  are as follows:

Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove,  Huntington Beach, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Orange, and Santa Ana.

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Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings in Orange County, August 2009

September 9, 2009 · Posted by admin

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings for the month of August 2009 have been most numerous in the following Orange County cities:

Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Orange, and Santa Ana.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorneys in Orange County have also seen a high number of bankruptcies filed in Costa Mesa, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Westminster.

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Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Rising in Southern California

June 29, 2009 · Posted by Alex

From Curtis Law Group’s blog:

“As reported in the Los Angeles Times yesterday, southern California has seen a dramatic increase in the number of consumer bankruptcy filings of late. The article referenced the mortgage crisis as the culprit, while also highlighting the fact that changes to the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Bill of 2005 have seemingly failed to reduce the number of bankruptcies these last few years.

Although the article emphasizes the increase in the greater Los Angeles area, bankruptcies in Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County have also risen dramatically in the past year, flooding bankruptcy attorneys in southern California with inquiries from debtors about whether they qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or whether they must resort to Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code for relief.”

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Some Relief For Those Repaying Student Loans

June 29, 2009 · Posted by Alex

From Yahoo news:

“Repaying a student loan could soon be a little less painful.

Starting this week, anyone with a federal student loan can apply for a program, run by the Department of Education, that caps monthly payments based on income, and forgives remaining balances after 25 years. Those choosing to work in public service could have their loans forgiven after just 10 years.

Eligibility for income-based repayment (IBR) is determined by a person’s income and loan size. A calculator at http://www.ibrinfo.org can help borrowers determine their eligibility for the plan, which becomes available Wednesday.

‘It’s a way to borrow for college without going to the poor house,’ said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, a California-based nonprofit that runs the Project on Student Debt.

The program stems from the Education Department’s College Cost Reduction and Access Act, signed in 2007, which authorized the creation of a new income-based repayment plan for both Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan borrowers on all Stafford and graduate PLUS loans.

Monthly payments would amount to less than 10 percent of income for most of the estimated 1 million people expected to enroll, experts say. Payments would never exceed 15 percent of any income above about $16,000 a year (or 150 percent of the poverty level).

Those who earn less than $16,000 would not have to make any monthly payments.”

Debtors in Orange County often seek out a bankruptcy attorney to discharge student loans, only to find that many do not qualify to have their student loans discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc.

June 19, 2009 · Posted by Alex

From CNN.com:

“Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday, citing an inability to pay back debt.

Eddie Bauer (EBHI) emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005 after being spun off from former owner Spiegel Catalog, which itself sought bankruptcy protection in 2003.

Costs from the 2005 reorganization, combined with pressure from the current recession, left the company ‘with no choice but to use this process to reduce the debt load,/ said chief executive Neil Fiske in a prepared statement.’”

Eddie Bauer has 371 stores nationwide, including in Orange County (notably, in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza), and plans to keep most of the stores open during the bankruptcy process.  If a new buyer takes over, however, it’s unclear what effect that would have on store closings.

For more bankruptcy information, click here

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