Blogs & Resources

We are often asked, what, if any, existing legal right in collection does an aggrieved victim have against a defendant who was ordered to pay restitution in a preceding criminal action? In short, an aggrieved party that is either the State or named as a victim in a resulting criminal Restitution Order has an enforceable right to restitution identical to a judgment holder. Being the named victim in the Restitution Order directs the offender to pay restitution for this person’s benefit and the victim is allowed to enforce that right through the civil collection process. To perfect that right, a victim may do many things, including filing a Civil Restitution Lien to attach to property acquired by the offender after the Restitution Order is issued. This Lien lasts for twenty (20) years.

On September 25, 2013, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal issued an opinion regarding a very familiar topic in Florida – a plaintiff’s standing to file and maintain a foreclosure action. In Focht vs. Wells Fargo Bank, the Second DCA upheld the long-established precedent that a plaintiff in a foreclosure action must prove that it had standing at the time it filed the foreclosure complaint in order to maintain the action. 2013 WL 5338048 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). If plaintiff lacks standing at inception, the defendant can have the case dismissed via summary judgment proceedings. Id.

Thanks to the omnipresence of the internet, there is no shortage of blogs or articles on nearly any and every topic imaginable. This may seem wonderful, but the problem then becomes not merely locating an article or blog, rather finding a good great article or blog. This can be especially true for attorneys. This blog post focuses on the Top 11 Litigation Articles from 2013.

This Blog is Part X 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 X focuses on the utilization of proceedings supplementary as a tool for satisfying the outstanding judgment balance owed by a judgment debtor.

Many times the party with the most leverage in contract negotiations forces the “weaker” party to hold it harmless or indemnify it for anything that goes wrong in connection with the contract, even problems caused by the “stronger” party’s own negligence. Indemnity is a risk shifting mechanism and essentially comes in two forms: common law and contractual. This article focuses on contractual indemnity provisions in construction contacts.

This Blog is Part IX 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 IX focuses on the ability of creditors to obtain a receiver over the debtor’s business and/or property as a method for satisfying the outstanding judgment balance.

Often times a creditor will find it difficult to collect on its judgment against the debtor, even when the creditor discovers that the debtor owns a business interest or owns other personal property

After a party obtains a judgment in a lawsuit, it may then be left trying to collect on it. Assuming the judgment is not paid, parties will likely engage in post-judgment discovery to locate assets and/or discover fraudulent transfers. Florida Statute § 56.29 provides judgment creditors with an expeditious remedy to both discover assets which may be subject to the judgment, as well as subject those assets to a speedy proceeding in the same court where the original judgment was obtained. Regent Bank v. Woodcox, 636 So. 2d 885, 886 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994).

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.