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Hawaii bankruptcies are continuing their downward trend even though not all attorneys are seeing a drop in numbers.
Statewide filings plunged 17.6 percent in May amid an improving economy that has seen the number of cases flat or down from the year-earlier period for 60 of the past 62 months, according to recent data released by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Hawaii.
But Honolulu attorney Ed Magauran said he’s not seeing a drop-off in business.
“We’re still getting lots of requests to help people file for bankruptcy,” Magauran said. “We’re still getting the same number of monthly calls. It’s just that it’s taking longer to get the data necessary to file. My monthly numbers are basically consistent over the last year. There’s no lack of people who owe more than they can pay. The bankruptcy filings may not reflect that, but we’re still very busy.”
There were 112 cases filed last month, down from 136 in the year-earlier period and the fewest filings in any May since 112 were filed in 2007.
The only interruption in the downward trend was in October and November of last year when bankruptcies were up slightly over the year-earlier period.
Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcies — the most common type of bankruptcy — fell 19.1 percent last month to 76 from 94 in the year-earlier month. Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals with regular sources of income to set up plans to pay creditors over time, declined 14.3 percent to 36 from 42. There were no Chapter 11 cases, typically a business reorganization, in either period.
Across the state the number of filings declined in three of the four major counties last month and remained the same in the other. Bankruptcies in Honolulu County decreased to 74 from 90, in Maui County fell to 21 from 28 and in Hawaii County slipped to 10 from 11. In Kauai County there were seven bankruptcies to match the year-earlier total.