Federal bankruptcy cases that were filed but show no termination, dismissal, or discharge in PACER metadata. 2,065 cases are still pending 5 or more years after filing. 87 cases are 10+ years old with no closure signal.
| Age | Count |
|---|---|
| 1+ year | 12,551 |
| 2+ years | 8,077 |
| 3+ years | 5,128 |
| 5+ years | 2,065 |
| 10+ years | 87 |
| Chapter | Zombies | Total in chapter | Rate per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch.13 | 1,662 | 103,194 | 16.10 |
| Ch.7 | 205 | 104,300 | 1.97 |
| Ch.11 | 158 | 5,737 | 27.53 |
| Ch.12 | 6 | 137 | 43.80 |
| District | Zombies | Total cases | Rate per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| almbk | 147 | 1,067 | 137.77 |
| alnbk | 96 | 967 | 99.28 |
| scbk | 79 | 841 | 93.94 |
| kyebk | 110 | 1,227 | 89.65 |
| paebk | 159 | 1,778 | 89.43 |
| vaebk | 122 | 1,432 | 85.20 |
| ncebk | 62 | 732 | 84.70 |
| miebk | 117 | 1,408 | 83.10 |
| innbk | 118 | 1,508 | 78.25 |
| arebk | 40 | 514 | 77.82 |
A 5+ year Ch.13 case with no closure signal is right at the statutory plan maximum (60 months). Some are cases where the discharge order issued but the docket date didn't propagate; others are cases that completed but never closed administratively; others are still genuinely pending. PACER metadata cannot distinguish among these without docket-level review.
Ch.7 zombies (205 of them, 5+ years old) are a different animal — Ch.7 should close within 6 months of filing. A 5-year-old open Ch.7 reflects either an unresolved adversary, a no-asset administrative tail, or a docket-data gap.