The number of bankruptcy filings in Eastern Washington hit record levels in 2005 after an unprecedented surge last fall, when debtors rushed to submit their petitions before new bankruptcy laws went into effect on Oct. 17.


Businesses and consumers filed 11,500 petitions seeking protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Courts eastern district of Washington. Jake Woodwell, data-quality analyst for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, says thats a record number of filings in the district.


A large chunk of that activity occurred in October, when the district received a whopping 3,133 filings, the most its ever received in a single month, Woodwell says. Most of those filings came before Oct. 17, when the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005 went into effect, overhauling bankruptcy laws.


Woodwell says that number of filings plunged to 133 in November and to 72 in December.


Kevin ORourke, a bankruptcy attorney with Southwell & ORourke PS, of Spokane, says he expects the number of filings to increase in the spring as people find out they still can file for bankruptcy.


The new law includes additional requirements that debtors must meet before theyre eligible to file for protection from creditors and also while bankruptcy proceedings are under way, ORourke says. The general perception is that the new law makes it more difficult for a consumer to file for bankruptcy, but in some cases, ORourke contends, it might be easier to move forward with a filing.


He says he doesnt think the new laws will decrease the number of filings.


In 2004, businesses and consumers filed about 9,400 petitions for protection from creditors in the eastern district, which includes all of Washington state east of the Cascade Mountains.


That was a decrease from 10,400 filings the previous year and marked the first decline in bankruptcy filings in the district in five years.