Two North Carolina Politicians File for Bankruptcy

Former North Carolina candidate for governor Bill Faison filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy

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Two North Carolina politicians have filed for bankruptcy each with their own unique circumstances. What both instances show, though, is something we see in our office all the time. Anyone from any walk of life or situation can get in over their head with debt and can benefit from the relief that Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can offer.

The two politicos we'll discuss today are Bill Faison and Foster Douglas – one a city councilman and one a former gubernatorial candidate and member of the state House of Representatives.

Faison, a Democrat from Raleigh, represented North Carolina's 50th House District between 2005 and 2012 and worked as a trial lawyer for most of his career dealing with medical and corporate negligence. He was considered for a run for North Carolina governorship in 2008 but opted to wait for the 2012 election. Faison put up $500,000 of his money as a loan to his campaign committee. 

He lost the election and one can only imagine costs of campaigning contributed to his debt crisis. In Faison's Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on January 3rd, he listed assets totaling $9.4 million and debts of $7.2 million. The bulk of his debts seem to be business related debts that he personally guaranteed for his law firm. His plan is to restructure his debts but to pay them all. 

Like many filers we help, filing bankruptcy is to give them breathing room to get their finances organized so that they can pay off their bills under a more feasible schedule for their budget. Most Chapter 11 filers are able to defeat their debts and regain their financial footing.

High Point City Councilman Foster Douglas filed personal bankruptcy

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The second NC politician to file for bankruptcy in recent months is Foster Douglas of the High Point City Council. Among Douglas' debts is more than $31,000 owed to the city he serves because of a lawsuit he had filed against the city and lost. The lawsuit was found to be without merit and Douglas was ordered to pay the costs of the city's legal defense of roughly $20,000 which grew with interest.

Still on the city council, Douglas filed personal bankruptcy in December to shield his house from being auctioned off to fulfill his debt to the city. In addition to the money he owes the city, his bankruptcy petition also listed back taxes owed to the state of North Carolina and the IRS. Douglas listed $159,000 of debts and assets of $102,000. He has also proposed a debt payment plan to take care of his obligations over time.

Anyone can get into financial trouble – as these cases show – for a variety of reasons, whether it's tax issues, medical expenses, credit card debt or overdue mortgage and car payments. Bankruptcy offers the chance for a financial fresh start no matter how you got into debt, who or how much you owe. Contact the law offices of John T Orcutt for more information and a free consultation.