• Year-to-date Chapter 11 filings down 3.8% to 125, aggregate debt down 18.8%
• Southern District of Texas leads with 26.2% of filings, Delaware second
• Consumer services sector tops Chapter 11 filings at 17%

Five new cases meeting Debtwire‘s criteria[1] filed for Chapter 11 last week as 3Q26 closed and 4Q26 began, including the direct-to-consumer pool supply retailer Leslie’s. Three of the five filed early in the week, before the quarter closed.

Year to date, Debtwire has tracked 125 Chapter 11 filings, down 3.8% from 130 a year earlier. Aggregate funded debt has also fallen, with 2026 filings totaling USD 59.6bn, 18.8% below the USD 73.4bn recorded over the same period in 2025.

Last week’s filings 

In addition to Leslie’s, the four other companies that filed for Chapter 11 protection last week included: (i) waste-conversion technology company InEnTec, (ii) resort owner-operator Veria Lifestyle, (iii) hotel investment company American Hospitality REIT, and (iv) restaurant chain FRC Balance (True Food Kitchen).

Venue 

Four of last week’s five filings went to districts already among 2026’s busiest. FRC Balance and Leslie’s filed in the Southern District of Texas, which led year to date with 26.2% of Debtwire-tracked filings. Veria Lifestyle filed in New Jersey, bringing that district’s share to 11.5% and placing it third among venues. American Hospitality REIT filed in the fourth busiest venue, the Northern District of Texas. InEnTec filed in the Eastern District of Washington.

Delaware held its lead in pending Debtwire-tracked Chapter 11 cases with 65, followed by the Southern District of Texas with 36. Delaware also accounts for 18% of filings so far this year.

Top judge 

Southern District of Texas Judge Christopher Lopez remained the busiest judge, with 25 pending Debtwire-tracked Chapter 11 cases. Delaware Judges Karen B. Owens, Craig T. Goldblatt and Laurie S. Silverstein tied for second with 11 each, followed by fellow Delaware Judge Thomas Horan with 10.

Sector

Healthcare lost its top spot in Debtwire’s sector rankings last week as consumer services moved into first place. Consumer services accounted for 17% of Chapter 11 filings year to date, compared with 14% for healthcare. Financial services ranked third at 9%, followed by consumer products at 8%.

Confirmed cases 

Two Chapter 11 plans were confirmed last week: FreshRealm’s and the plan for the DISH DBS debtors. The proposed plan for the DISH Wireless debtors remained contested.

[1] This report is Debtwire’s Weekly US Restructuring Insights Report, which uses data from our Restructuring Database (RDB) to provide an overview of Chapter 11 filings in the country. Debtwire’s RDB covers bankruptcy cases with funded debt of USD 10m or more, however, exceptions to that threshold are made for a small number of select and otherwise notable cases. The cut-off for new filings to be added to this report was midnight Sunday (4 October).