Blogs & Resources

Many creditors have default interest provisions in their contract documents. The highest rate allowable under Florida law for these default provisions is 18% per annum or 1.5% per month. However, creditors almost never address post judgment interest in their contract documents. Such omission leaves them at the mercy of the interest rate set forth in Section 55.03, which states:

This Blog is Part I 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 I focuses on the steps a business owner can take prior to filing a lawsuit against a delinquent customer.

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals has made it even harder for Florida’s associations to survive within this tough market environment. For decades, Florida law was interpreted as to always require the purchaser of a residential foreclosure to pay the past-due assessments owed to an association by the previous property owner. The Third District, however, has altered the interpretation of that law. In the case of Aventura Management, LLC v. Spiaggia, the Third DCA held that associations can now be considered jointly and severally liable for past-due assessments in certain situations. 105 So.3d 637 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013).

Isn’t tax season a wonderful time for creditors seeking to collect on a judgment? A time when all that money flowing from the federal government to debtors could go straight into your pocket. Or can it? Can you garnish the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in order to take that refund check before the debtor gets a hold of it and the money disappears?

Nothing in life is free, and that applies to living in a nice neighborhood as well. Whether it is a neighborhood of condominiums or single family homes, the cost of maintenance and upkeep often falls to those living within that community. And when an association is delegated the duty of maintaining the neighborhood, that association will charge its residents a periodic assessment, which is due usually monthly or quarterly. Such associations function best when all property owners contribute by making timely assessment payments.

Once a judgment is entered, there are numerous methods that can be utilized to collect on the judgment, including garnishment and levying on real and personal property. But how do you know what is out there to levy against or garnish? The best method for locating assets is often times the simplest – just ask.

Rule 1.560, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, allows for the use of a deposition as a proper discovery tool post judgment. Utilizing a deposition in aid of execution to ascertain the necessary information to garnish wages or levy on real property may seem simple. However, numerous considerations must be taken into account before making the decision to depose a judgment debtor. Below is a list of items to consider before, during and after taking a deposition in aid of execution.

Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) have remedies available, under Florida law, when its residents fail to pay their periodic HOA assessments in a timely manner. One such remedy is a statutory lien pursuant to Chapter 720, Florida Statutes. According to Florida law, when a community is subject to mandatory HOA fees, the HOA has the statutory authority to levy assessments and to secure its claim for any unpaid assessments by placing a lien on the debtor’s property within that community. Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(1).

By Hans Wahl, Esquire

The first consideration for creditors during bankruptcy proceedings is the Automatic Stay provision of the Bankruptcy Code. Section 362 of the United States Bankruptcy Code provides the provisions governing the Automatic Stay. The Automatic Stay works as an immediate “injunction” that halts all actions by creditors and potential creditors to collect on pre-bankruptcy debts from a debtor who has declared bankruptcy.

The Automatic Stay applies in all bankruptcy proceedings, including Chapters 7, 11 and 13, and this provision is invoked automatically and immediately upon the debtor filing for bankruptcy. The Automatic Stay is a benefit to debtors because once invoked it works to immediately stop all actions and proceedings to recover claims against the debtor. Conversely, it is a detriment to creditors as they can no longer continue with either collection efforts or legal action for their claims against the debtor.

However, there are exceptions to the Automatic Stay which provide relief to creditors. For creditors seeking to avoid the Automatic Stay, there are three subsections of Section 362, which can be invaluable if taken advantage of properly. These include §§§ 362(b), (d) & (f), which can be considered the creditor’s best allies within the Bankruptcy Code.

Just as we can’t see the air we breathe or radio waves transmitting data around the world, neither can we see thoughts and ideas. However, this does not mean they don’t exist.  Similarly, for those Professionals whose work product may not be a tangible, fungible item, their work product nonetheless […]

I recently came across a piece of information that I had never heard before in my last four years of litigating creditor’s rights cases. I have been advised that attorneys’ fees can never be granted on a Motion for Final Judgment after Default. Who knew? I have had hundreds of default judgments entered, nearly all of which included attorneys’ fees, without once being told that this practice was incorrect. So is it really incorrect?