Jacksonville

Published on: August 31, 2020

How Will Stein Mart’s Bankruptcy Filing Affect its Customers, Employees and the Community?

Jacksonville-based discount retailer Stein Mart filed bankruptcy about 10 days ago. The company is another victim of COVID-19 and the widespread economic slowdown that the virus has caused. Millions of Americans are still unemployed or earning reduced wages. That means that they are not shopping as much as they were before the pandemic–in person or online.

People often wonder what happens when a store files bankruptcy and shuts down its retail outlets. Store closings and corporate bankruptcy filings affect many kinds of people in the local community: employees and customers and landlords.

Stein Mart started by laying off 100s of employees in its corporate headquarters on the Southbank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. It also furloughed over 8,00 employees in its retail stores and in its supply chain. These former employees can file for unemployment benefits as soon as they are laid off.

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Published on: May 22, 2020

Why You Should Never File Bankruptcy On Your Own

By Robert Wilbert

With the effects of Coronavirus still impacting the economy, many people are facing loss of income. This reduction in income makes it harder for working people to pay their bills. Things might not get better. One economist estimates 42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss.

Whether their lay offs are permanent or temporary, people are looking for ways to save money on goods and services that they need. With the advent of the Internet, people have become used to finding information and deals on items they need. The Internet Age has made people used to getting things fast and cheap, or even free. It has also made people believe in do-it-yourself. Just watch a video and you can do anything yourself. The recent lockdowns have had people searching for Youtube videos on how to cut their own hair, since most salons and barber shops have been closed.

Some people who are facing overwhelming debt also look for do-it-yourself solutions to deal with their debt. They often file for bankruptcy without an attorney. There are signs in Jacksonville along I-95 exits saying “Bankruptcy $150.” These signs are placed along the interstate by non-lawyers or “petition preparers” who will take $150 from you to type the documents necessary to file a bankruptcy case. The thought is that bankruptcy is just filing out some forms and filing them with a court. (This author once had a boss, who is a lawyer. This lawyer declared, “Bankruptcy isn’t rocket science; it is just filling out a bunch of forms about your finances.” When this person filed for bankruptcy a few years later, she hired a competent lawyer.)

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Published on: May 15, 2020

With So Many Floridians Losing Their Jobs or Income, Now is a Good Time to See if You Qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

By Robert Wilbert

Because of the historic economic impact of COVID-19, economists are predicting a “tsunami” of personal bankruptcy filings. Well-known businesses like J. Crew, Beall’s, Goody’s, Gold’s Gym and Neiman Marcus recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Most major airlines could face bankruptcy without a government bailout.

Americans who have become used to using credit cards as a stop-gap measure to survive pay-cuts might not be able to rely on this method since nearly 50 million Americans just had their credit card limits cut.

For centuries, companies have used bankruptcy as a tool to survive, reorganize or to shut-down. Several airlines have filed bankruptcy over the past three decades, primarily to break contracts and modify pensions.

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Published on: April 29, 2020

What Programs Exist to Help People in Jacksonville Who Lost Jobs or Income Because of COVID-19?

By Robert Wilbert

The news these days is all about Coronavirus: from television news to social media, the number one topic of the day is COVID-19. Our screens and feeds are flooded with news about how Coronavirus has devastated the American economy. Just this morning, NBC News had the “breaking” news that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 4.8% in the first quarter of the year–the biggest decline since the Great Recession. This is probably is not much of a surprise to most of us. Economists predict that the worst is yet to come. Nearly Americans know that the economy has slowed down since millions of us have been laid off, furloughed, or had our incomes slashed. People without jobs and people worried about losing their jobs don’t have money to spend or are hesitant to spend it . Because of this uncertainty, consumer confidence plunged in April.

Many Floridians are worried about how they will pay for necessities like housing, food and transportation. By now, most Americans who are eligible to receive the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Stimulus payments have received their money. In Jacksonville, there will soon be an additional $1,000 available to each Jacksonville household that earns under $75,000 and can show they’ve taken a 25% income loss due to coronavirus. This program will be run by the city of Jacksonville, but funded by the Federal Government. The city will be issuing payments cards to 40,000 households. One household member must apply for the assistance online or by phone and then go downtown in person (the Main Library on N. Laura Street or the Ed Ball Building on N. Hogan Street) to an appointment to receive the payment. You will go to an auditorium, while practicing social distancing.

In order to get an appointment, residents must show that they had employment as of February 29, and that the Coronavirus epidemic caused them to lose at least 25% of their income. This test should be easy to meet for “non-essential” workers, who lost jobs or income because of the governor’s or mayor’s mandated shutdown. City Council President Scott Wilson said he expects the website to be up and running soon, and that “the goal is to start cutting checks — and what we’re going to do is give debit cards or credit cards, gift card type things — within the next seven days.”

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