Creditors Rights
Are you having trouble getting paid?
Vendors, landlords, lenders, and everyday people find themselves in situations where someone with whom they have been dealing stops paying the money they owe or files a bankruptcy petition. All may not be lost. Duffy & Atkins offers the assistance of attorneys with experience in creditors' rights and may be able to recover some or all of the money owed to you. We assist creditors in collecting from both businesses and individuals.
Duffy & Atkins understands that each situation in which a business is owed money is a little different. The facts and circumstances surrounding your claim will determine your rights and the best way to achieve your goal. So, the first thing we do is listen to you and ask questions in order to learn about your relationship with the debtor and the nature of the claim. At that point, we work with you to come up with a plan that is cost-effective and practical in order to maximize the amount you recover.
Types of Creditors' Claims
Generally speaking, claims fall into three broad categories. First are secured creditors (i.e. those who have a lien against a particular piece of property). This property (or proceeds from its sale) must be used to satisfy the debt to the lien-creditor before it can be used to satisfy debts to other creditors. A lien may arise through statute, an agreement between the parties, or following a law suit filed by a creditor.
The second type of creditor is one who has a priority interest. A priority arises through statutory law. If a creditor has a priority his or her debt must be paid before other debts. For example, vendors who deliver goods to an insolvent customer may, under the Uniform Commercial Code, have a priority claim for the value of these goods if the customer does not pay for them.
The final type of creditor is a general unsecured creditor. These are people or businesses who neither have a lien against the debtor's property nor are entitled to a statutory priority. Most creditors fall into this category.
Strategies
Aggressive creditors’ attorneys — like Duffy & Atkins — have several arrows in their quiver to force a debtor to pay the money it owes. These include commencing a law suit against the debtor, seeking to attach or freeze assets and bank accounts, and pushing the debtor into receivership or bankruptcy. Yet, creditors need to be careful how they pursue their rights as many states regulate the way companies may seek to collect on debts owed to them. Also, Congress has enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to regulate some debt collection activities.
One means of creditor recovery that is often overlooked is to go after property that a debtor may have given away or sold for less than it was worth. This is a common tactic that debtors use to hide assets from creditors. But these types of “fraudulent” transfers can be unwound by the courts in order to allow creditors to receive what they deserve. We will work with you to develop a strategy to take best advantage of the law for your benefit.
Building solutions, overcoming obstacles.
