Banking & Financial Services Industry Legal Blog

On August 14, 2013, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in the case of Regions Bank v. MDG Frank Helmerich, LLC, et al., that is of great benefit to Florida’s judgment creditors. In its opinion, the Second District held that a judgment creditor is entitled to post-judgment discovery on the judgment debtor’s assets held jointly with a spouse. Regions Bank v. MDG Frank Helmerich, LLC, et al., 2013 WL 4081005, 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). That holding provides creditors with a greater net to cast in the hopes of locating assets that are nonexempt and can be used to satisfy the judgment balance.

This Blog is Part VIII in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables.  Specifically, Part VIII focuses on executing and levying on a debtor’s personal property as a method for creditors to satisfy an […]

When a person or business loans money to another person or business, it is usually the case that the creditor will require a security interest in the assets of the debtor. Often times, especially these days given the state of the economy in the past five years, the debtor will default on the loan, usually by failing to repay the funds in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Since the creditor has a security interest in debtor’s personal property, the creditor can simply walk in one day and take everything to satisfy the loan right? Not quite…

This Blog is Part VII in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part VII focuses on satisfying a creditor’s outstanding judgment balance by issuing a charging order against a debtor’s business interest.

When a debtor files a bankruptcy action, creditors may or may not have the opportunity to file a proof of claim evidencing the amount owed to the creditor on the date the bankruptcy action was filed. The court sets a deadline for filing the proof of claim, to which all creditors must strictly adhere. But what if a creditor misses the deadline? Is all hope lost, or is there a mechanism to still get the claim in and receive a portion of any distribution? Well, whether an untimely claim is valid or not really turns on notice.

This Blog is Part VI in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part VI focuses on garnishing a debtor’s employer for a portion of the debtor’s salary or wages in order to satisfy the outstanding judgment debt.

This Blog is Part V in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part V focuses on garnishing a debtor’s bank accounts in order to satisfy the outstanding judgment debt.

This Blog is Part IV in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part IV focuses on various methods of post-judgment discovery that a creditor can use for locating assets of the debtor to satisfy the judgment.

When a Purchase Money Security Interest (PMSI) trumps an existing UCC-1 blanket asset lien depends upon whether the creditor perfected its PMSI during the required time period under Florida law in order to receive priority status over previously recorded blanket liens. Under Florida law, that priority period is within twenty days of the collateral being delivered to the debtor. Fla. Stat. § 679.324(1) (2012). If the creditor fails to perfect its PMSI during the statutorily provided period, it cannot gain priority status over another creditor’s previously perfected blanket security interest. In re Alphatech Systems, Inc., 317 F.3d 1267, 1269 (11th Cir. 2003). This Blog post seeks to analyze those circumstances where a lender seeks to prime an existing UCC-1 with their PMSI.

Very often in a debt collection action, whether a breached contract, defaulted secured note or otherwise, there will be a debtor who is trying to deplete corporate assets (frequently real property) before the inevitable judgment can be rendered. Sometimes depletion isn’t intentional, it is just a byproduct of the business judgment issues that created the problem in the first place. In those circumstances where assets are being wasted, and many more, creditors should consider seeking the appointment of a state court receiver. Receivers can serve as watchdogs for the business, ensuring that status quo is maintained so that the creditors are able to recover whatever assets may remain with an orderly liquidation. In the matters we handle for lenders (and other creditors), receivers come in very handy in the active management of the collateral properties. Appointment of receivers is not a remedy for every case, however, as it often has just as many challenges associated as it does benefits. This Blog post seeks to explore those benefits and drawbacks.