A new chapter in bankruptcy: How the pandemic is influencing consumer and commercial bankruptcy filings

Most would agree that the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected all aspects of life and business this year. The impact of the pandemic on consumer bankruptcy case filings has been surprising to say the least. After the initial spread of the virus triggered a rash of stay-at-home orders, consumer filings in April dropped suddenly and sharply. In April, new consumer case filings dropped 39% from the prior month. May and June continued to see fewer consumer case filings as well, both months new consumer case filings were down more than 30% from comparable 2019 rates.