The numbers of personal and company bankruptcies continue to be on the rise in the San Fernando Valley, although economists don’t consider it a harbinger of bad things to come. In March of this year, there were 1,316 Chapter 11 filings in the San Fernando Valley, according to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. That represents a 5.9 percent rise over the same month in 1997 and an 18 percent rise over the previous month. Individuals who filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 13 numbered 341 in March a 10.7 percent rise over the like period in 1997 and an 11 percent hike from the previous month. But Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County, said that in an “entrepreneurial, small business-based” city like Los Angeles, healthy times can mean more small business start-ups and that can lead to more failures. “A lot of people start businesses without realistic business plans,” Kyser said. “After some time they realize that they’re in too deep and pull out.” He said that this accounts for rises in the numbers of Chapter 11 company filings, as well as Chapter 13 personal filings. A person with a small, home-based business could end up filing for protection from creditors under either category. In March, there were four Valley Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, according to federal Bankruptcy Court statistics. There were also four such filings the previous month, and 14 in March 1997.
