Contents of the BRD

The BRD contains data on all large, public company bankruptcy cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Courts from October 1, 1979 to the most recent update of this database.

Large:

A case is "large" if debtor reported assets or more than $100 million (measured in 1980 dollars) on the last form 10-K that the debtor filed with the Securities Exchange Commission before filing the bankruptcy case.

Public:

A company is "public" if the company filed a form 10-K with the Securities Exchange Commission in the three years prior to bankruptcy.

Case:

A "case" includes all cases filed by or against members of the 10-K filing company's corporate group provided that those cases are consolidated by the bankruptcy court for the purpose of administration.  Thus, a single "case" for the purpose of the WebBRD may be reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts as dozens or hundreds of cases.