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Understanding Commercial Debt Collection
Extending credit to businesses is essential to promoting healthy commerce. Most businesses cannot afford to make large purchases, such as equipment or real estate, without the help of financing or payment plans.
When all goes well, the debtor repays the commercial debt as agreed and the creditor earns interest. But when debtors default on their repayment obligations, commercial lenders find themselves in a very tough position. They must choose between investing huge amounts of time and money trying to collect that debt, and writing it off as a loss or bad debt.
Understanding your rights under collection law
Whether you are a financial institution or a company that extends credit to its customers, you must understand your rights as creditors and how to protect your interests in the event that scheduled payments slow or stop.
After attempting to collect this debt on your own by sending out overdue notices and making collection calls, it may be worthwhile to enlist the help of an experienced attorney. Professional debt collectors can take aggressive measures like the following:
- Conduct negotiations and set up payment plans
- Enter into binding alternative dispute resolution with the debtor
- Foreclose on business assets
- Repossess secured property, such as a vehicle
- Obtain a court-ordered judgment against the debtor
- Place a lien on secured real estate
- Initiate a lawsuit
Most judicial and non-judicial debt collection procedures involve taking a series of actions by specified deadlines. For this reason, it is important to move quickly to stake your claim on assets and money you are owed.
If you work at a business or financial institution in need of debt collections in Texas, Arkansas or Tennessee, Hosto, Buchan, Prater & Lawrence, PLLC can help. From our offices in Dallas, Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas, our Texas commercial collection attorneys and Arkansas debt collection lawyers have an impressive track record of effective debt collection. We are located at 701 West Seventh St, Little Rock, AR & 13612 Midway Road, Suite 408, Dallas, TX and 4525 Harding Road, Suite 218, Nashville, TN.
Should You Sue for Your Accident Injuries?
A common question clients ask is if they should sue for injuries sustained in an accident. The answer is usually multifaceted, and depends upon many different aspects of the case. When making the decision to sue or not, a few things to consider include the following:
Was the accident the result of negligence, carelessness or recklessness? Malicious or intended harmful actions are typically the stuff of criminal lawsuits. For a civil case, your accident attorney needs to show that a reasonable amount of caution or care was not taken, and that failure to do so resulted in your injury. It does not matter whether or not the responsible party meant to do harm. What matters is that it occurred, and they can be held accountable.
Many different defendants can be named in a lawsuit. Certain individuals and agencies have a responsibility to protect others from harm. Keep in mind that any responsible parties not present at the time an accident occurred may still be liable. For example:
- If you were injured in a car accident, partial blame may lay with your mechanic, for missing an important aspect of routine maintenance that would have prevented a tragedy.
- Road maintenance crews and their supervisors may fail to fill the potholes that cause a crash.
- Doctors can fail to diagnose a serious illness, leading to irreparable bodily harm, and even death.
- A defective product can result in a need to sue the manufacturer, distributor or retailer of the item if it caused an injury. This type of suit falls under the heading of products liability.
- If you are on property belonging to another person or company, and there is a reasonable expectation for you to be there, those parties can be sued in a slip and fall case. They have a responsibility to maintain your well-being while you are on their property.
Does enough evidence exist for your case? Did you suffer a loss due to your injuries? Were there witnesses to the accident? Is there a direct link between the harm caused and the failure of the defendant to act responsibly? Although these are all good questions to consider, in the end, your New York accident attorney is the best person to determine if you have a potentially winning suit.
Are you looking for an accomplished New York accident law firm? Stephen R. Foley and his New York accident law firms give you comprehensive legal help to restore your financial health. We're locates at 36 Church St, Buffalo, NY 14202.
Construction Litigation
Construction law is complex, and contractors along with other construction industry professionals can be sued under various scenarios including:
- Construction defect claims by customers
- Design approval
- Payment disputes
- Reports to the contractor's license board
- Contractual warranty claims
- Insurance claims
When litigation is necessary, having an experienced and effective construction attorney can ensure your rights are protected. Sometimes litigation is unavoidable because of the complexity of construction projects and the potential for problems developing both during and after the project. Disputes can arise from situations such as:
- The scope of particular work
- Need for additional or extra work
- Costs associated with changes to a project
Alternatives to litigation
Many people prefer to avoid litigation and would rather find alternatives to resolving disputes. Avoiding litigation has many benefits including:
- Saving money/costs
- Avoid loss of profits
- Maintaining professional relationships
- Alternative Dispute Resolution. While litigation is an option, many construction disputes are resolved through alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as arbitration and mediation. Arbitrations in construction disputes generally follow the construction arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. And construction arbitrations are held either before a single arbitrator or a three- arbitrator panel. Generally the terms and agreements within the construction contract determine the type of arbitration that decides the case.
- Proper planning to avoid disputes and litigation. As a preventive measure to avoid future problems and lawsuits, contractors and parties involved in construction projects should seek legal expertise in contract drafting and negotiation. Every contract and project presents its own set of unique needs and challenges, which should be considered before entering into an agreement. By anticipating each project’s needs and challenges, parties can establish contract clauses and agreements that clearly set out the terms and conditions.
Avoid litigation and talk to a professional
It is always less expensive to plan ahead and circumvent trouble than to dig yourself out of trouble when it rears its ugly head. Before entering into any construction project and contract, it is important to consult an experienced San Diego construction attorney who can protect your rights and help you avoid future legal issues. Taking the time to plan ahead saves you time, money, and the stress of legal disputes.
This article was provided by the San Diego construction lawyers at the Law Offices of Brian C. Andrews, Esq. For more information, contact them at there office located at 5755 Oberlin Drive, Suite 301, San Diego, CA 92121.
Post Judgment Relief
Before a judgment is obtained, creditors focus on prejudgment measures designed to prevent the debtor from concealing or disposing of assets that could potentially satisfy the outstanding debt. But after the judgment is obtained, the focus moves to determining what non-exempt assets the debtor has and how to effectively seize those assets to satisfy the judgment.
With respect to this post judgment collection process, there are many legal remedies available to a judgment creditor including the following:
- Judgment liens: liens that attach to any non-exempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in the county where it is filed.
- Writs of execution: the process by which the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment directs the sheriff or constable to seize all personal and real property and sell it as part of the execution sale at a public auction and apply the monetary proceeds to the judgment debt.
- Turnover orders: a statutory remedy in which a court orders a judgment debtor to turn over all non-exempt assets he or she owns to a sheriff or constable to satisfy a judgment. Also, a receiver can take possession of the property and sell it in order to pay the proceeds to the judgment creditor to satisfy the debt.
- Garnishment: a process that allows a judgment creditor to reach the assets of a debtor that is in the possession of a third party, such as a bank.
Consult a collections attorney today
Lawyers can assist creditors with every aspect of the debt collection process including post judgment discovery and relief in Texas. Clients who work closely with a team of Texas debt collection attorneys will understand all aspects of the complex debt collection process.
If you work at a business or financial institution in need of Arkansas, Tennessee or Texas debt collectors, the commercial collection law firm of Hosto, Buchan, Prater & Lawrence, PLLC can help.
