NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A greater share of large

U.S. bankruptcy cases are being filed in Dallas and Fort Worth

courthouses, with the Northern District of Texas surpassing busy

courts in New York and New Jersey over the past twelve months.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas

was the third-most active court for large business bankruptcies

over 12 months from July 2024 to June 2025, accounting for 7% of

cases involving more than $100 million in assets, according to

statistics in an annual report by consulting firm Cornerstone

Research released Wednesday.

The Northern District of Texas, which assigns large

bankruptcy cases to judges in Dallas and Fort Worth, has been

the court of choice for large debtors like restaurant chain

Hooters of America and nursing home operator Genesis Healthcare.

The court has remained popular even after the period covered by

Cornerstone's latest report, with subprime auto lender Tricolor

and CVS-owned pharmacy services provider Omnicare filing for

bankruptcies in that court in September 2025.

The Southern District of New York and the District of New

Jersey each accounted for 4% of cases involving more than $100

million in assets in the same time period. It is the first time

since 2012 that the Northern District of Texas has ranked in the

top three busiest bankruptcy courts, according to Cornerstone.

The two busiest bankruptcy courts remain the District of

Delaware, which accounted for 40% of large business bankruptcies

over the same period, and the Southern District of Texas, which

accounted for 24% of cases, according to Cornerstone.

The past year saw a spike in very large bankruptcy cases

involving more than $1 billion in assets, with 32 such cases

filed over the same period. The year before that saw 24

billion-dollar bankruptcies. Overall, the number of cases

involving $100 million in assets remained relatively steady,

with 117 such cases in July 2024 to June 2025, compared to 113

in the 12 months studied before that by Cornerstone.

The largest recent bankruptcies over the July 2024-June 2025

period include solar power company Sunnova Energy ( NOVAQ ), which filed

for bankruptcy with $13.4 billion in assets; budget airline

Spirit Airlines, with $9.5 billion in assets; semiconductor

manufacturer Wolfspeed, with $7.6 billion in assets; Brazilian

airline Azul S.A. ( AZULQ ), with $4.5 billion in assets; and furniture

retailer Big Lots ( BIGGQ ), with $3.2 billion in assets, according to

Cornerstone Research.

Bankrupt companies commonly cited inflation, government

policy changes such as new tariffs, and cuts to green energy

spending, as well as industry-specific factors such as increased

competition, as reasons for filing bankruptcy in the 12 months

studied.

Besides Sunnova, green energy companies such as Global Clean

Energy ( GCEI ), SunPower Corp, and Mosaic Sustainable Finance Corp have

also gone bankrupt in the past year.

Companies that cited tariffs as a factor in their bankruptcy

include clothing retail Forever21, automotive parts supplier

Marelli, and home furnishing retailer At Home.

Read more:

Bankruptcy trends to watch in 2025