Things looking up in the New Orleans economy? Perhaps, according to a report from the New Orleans City Business Newsroom that the New Orleans area saw a near 10% drop in bankruptcy filings in April 2012.
A few weeks ago, we ran a blog series here at the Construction Payment Blog about the relationship between mechanics lien claims and the bankruptcy process. There are a lot of legal nuances here, but the short story is that in the face of bankruptcy, filing a mechanics lien can be a very effective and optimistic way to recover.
However, that doesn’t mean anyone is sitting around hoping for a bankruptcy. To the contrary, debts are almost always more likely to be collected when the parties are not in bankruptcy.
That’s why news of such a dramatic drop in bankruptcy filings should be music to the ears of New Orleans contractors, suppliers and equipment rental companies. Especially in light of the expected $28 million + in public construction projects set to begin this summer in New Orleans.