According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, U.S. bankruptcy filings totaled 629,570 during the first nine months of 2015 (Jan. 1-September 30), an 11 percent decrease from the 705,728 total filings during the same period a year ago, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. The 607,182 total noncommercial filings through three quarters of 2015 represented an 11 percent drop from the noncommercial filing total of 678,804 through the first three quarters of 2014. Total commercial filings during the first nine months of the year were 22,388, representing a 17 percent decrease from the 26,924 filings during the same period in 2014. Chapter 11 filings fell slightly during the first nine months of 2015 as the 4,091 filings represented a 1 percent decrease from the 4,142 chapter 11 filings during the first nine months of 2014.
