When a business or individual is experiencing financial distress, creditors often worry that assets may be moved out of reach before debts can be collected. Bankruptcy law provides tools to address this concern through the doctrine of fraudulent transfers. These laws are designed to ensure that assets are not hidden, […]
Part 1 of this series provided an overview of Florida’s Consumer Collections Practices Act (FCCPA) and explained why it is imperative for all business owners to be aware of, and understand, the FCCPA. This article explores Section 559.77’s bona fide error defense and how businesses can be prepared to defend […]
All businesses in the state of Florida need to be familiar with Florida’s Consumer Collection Practices Act (“FCCPA”). The FCCPA is found at Sections 559.55-559.785 of the Florida Statutes. The FCCPA is intended to protect consumers and is intentionally unfair to creditors. See §559.552, Fla. Stat. (2019); Kelly v. Duggan, […]
Bankruptcy filings indicate a debtor’s lack of working capital and, justifiably so, strike concern into any lender still hanging on to a promise of payment from their debtor. But, depending on the creditor’s agreement with the debtor and the creditor’s actions after payment default, a creditor could recuperate collateral assets […]
The novel coronavirus pandemic and related government “stay at home” and “shelter in place” orders are causing serious negative financial impacts to business of all types. Many of the hardest hit industries, such as restaurants and retailers, are industries in which a large portion of the business may be operated […]
This article provides a high level overview of the The Fair Credit Reporting Act, including its statutory authority and the goals of the Act. The article examines what steps a furnisher of information, like a bank, credit union, or credit card company, should take when it receives a dispute. Finally, […]
Selling your business is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The reasons for selling your business can vary. It can be a well planned event culminating decades of hard work, it can occur quickly due to an offer that can’t be refused, or it can be […]
Effective October 2018, lenders have a new remedy in a foreclosure proceeding to expedite the final resolution of the proceeding. Section 702.12, Florida Statutes creates a presumption in favor of the lender that the borrower waived any defense to a foreclosure proceeding when the borrower’s debt was discharged in a […]
While bankruptcy proceedings generally allow individuals an opportunity to discharge many different liabilities, there are some classes of liabilities—such as those involving fraud—that are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Code (“Code”) prohibits the discharge of “any debt . . . for money, property, [or] services . . . to the extent obtained by . . . false pretenses, a false representation, […]
One of the biggest legal mysteries for non-lawyers, even for experienced and sophisticated businesspeople, is the process of arbitration. The term gets used a lot, but few actually know what the process entails, and most people are usually apprehensive about going through an arbitration in a way they aren’t with […]