PARKERSBURG - For 2009 the number of bankruptcy cases filed with the U.S. District Court in Parkersburg increased at a rate similar to the rest of the southern district.
Jo Proops, clerk of bankruptcy court of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of West Virginia, said most of the cases filed in the district are personal bankruptcy cases, although there are a few corporate or business filings.
Proops said bankruptcy filings in the 23-county district increased by 15 percent.
"In the Parkersburg division, which covers Wood and Wirt counties, there was a 14 percent increase in filings, almost the same as the district as a whole," she said.
"There were 339 cases filed in 2008 and in 2009 there were 387 in the Parkersburg division. For the entire district, there were 3,085 bankruptcy cases in 2008 and in 2009 there were 3,550 cases."
According to court records, bankruptcy filings in all of West Virginia rose by 27 percent in 2009.
Nationally, bankruptcy filings increased by 32 percent last year.
Proops said 29 bankruptcy cases have been filed in the southern district since the beginning of the year.
Records show the northern half of the state fared worse than the southern half.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District administrator Mike Sturm said the number of bankruptcy filings in the 32-county district rose by an estimated 40 percent in 2009.
Since southern West Virginia did not experience the boom and decline in housing costs, that could be the reason the region seems to have fared better than the north, Proops said.
Also, coal prices were high for a time.
Proops said the most commonly filed type of bankruptcy is Chapter 7 , which is liquidation of assets. It may take up to six months to discharge, or close, the case.
