Officer Liability in a Debt Collection Case

When considering strategies to most effectively be able to collect money on a debt owed to your company, an analysis of the corporate structure is vital. The State Department of Corporations give valuable information on how the corporate debtor is structured. Many times in a debt collection case, our collection attorneys find that the debtor’s corporation has been administratively dissolved. That does not necessarily mean the debtor company is still not operating. In that case our collection law firm is able to bring your company’s debt collection lawsuit against the officers of the company in an individual capacity. Our collection lawyer would draft the caption of the debt collection lawsuit …John Johns t/a (trading as) Bob’s Debtor Company.

Our collection law firm believes that keeping pressure on the officers of an entity is a very effective tool in getting your debt collection matter resolved. Most companies set up a corporate structure to shield the officers from personal liability. However, if the company is sloppy and does not keep up its corporate charter, individual liability for the debt may be imposed by the Courts.

Miami Dade Court House

Miami Dade County Court House

Our collection law firm’s collection attorneys also look for evidence that a corporate debtor may have been severely under-capitalized. Our debt collection law firm has brought suit against officers of a company for not having adequate working capital. The theory being that the officers knew or should have known that the debtor entity did not have the financial capability to pay for the goods or services.

If you would like to discuss your company’s debt collection and or debt recovery strategies with our debt collection attorney, feel free to call our debt collection law firm. We would be happy to devise a debt collection and recovery strategy that is custom tailored to your company’s debt collection needs. EMAIL US TODAY

Can Principals of a Closely Held Entity Be Personally Liable for the Debt of the Entity

Our collection attorneys find time and time again small businesses ignore corporate formalities. At our Florida Collection Law Firm, we investigate to see if corporate formalities have in fact been followed. If not our collection lawyers will seek to pin personal liability for corporate debt on the principals of these entities. The principals of these single member limited liability companies or closely held companies simply take these forms with the illusion, it will shield them from personal liability for the debt these entities incur. This is a mistake.
Our collection lawyers look for commingling of corporate funds with the personal funds of the principals and/ or the use of corporate funds for expenses that our clearly not business related. Good examples are expenses for purchase of movie tickets, repeated charges to restaurants and or charges incurred at Universal Studios or Disney World. One of the biggest mistakes our collection attorneys find is the principals of the debtor entities do not file their annual reports with the department of corporations. This causes the entity to become administratively dissolved.

 Collection  Attorney and Collection Law Firm

Collection Attorney and Collection Law Firm

Please feel free to contact our collection attorney at our debt collection law firm and speak to our collection lawyers about the specifics facts surrounding your debt collection case. We will discuss the possibility of pursuing the principals of closely held entities for the debt owed to your company. You may mail or email your supporting documents to our collection firm. Our collection attorney will review your account and then contact you to devise a strategy for your debt collection matter.

Stephen B. Gebeloff, P.A.
5255 N. Federal Hwy., 3rd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33487
(561)953-4600
fax(561)953-4610
[email protected]

Officer and Director Liabilty in a Florida Collection Case

OFFICER DIRECTOR LIABILITY

Our collection law firm continually looks for ways to assert personal liability on an officer or director of a corporation (“officer- director liability”) when there are no personal guarantees on the account. One way is to see if the corporation is still active on the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations website. If the corporation has been administratively dissolved, we look for the effective date of the administrative dissolution. If goods and services were provided during the time that the debtor was administratively dissolved, our collection attorney will assert that the officer is personally liable for the debt because the corporation no longer was officially in existence at the time. Recent case law in Florida, however, has indicated that if a corporation reinstates, the reinstatement would absolve the officer from liability.

Stephen Gebeloff Florida Colletion Lawyer

Florida Collection Attorney

Our collection firm does not stop there. There our other ways to assert officer director liability. We assert that the debtor corporation was under capitalized at the time the corporation placed the order for goods or services. Thus, we assert the officers and directors had knowledge of this fact or should have known this fact. A prudent director would not order $100.00 worth of product with only $5.00 dollars in the bank. We state our cause of action in the collection lawsuit as fraud.

Please feel free to contact our Florida collection law firm and speak to our Florida collection lawyer about the specifics facts surrounding your Florida debt collection case. You may mail or email your supporting documents to our collection firm. Our Florida collection attorney will review your account and then contact you to devise a strategy for your Florida collection matter.

Stephen B. Gebeloff, P.A.
5255 N. Federal Hwy., 3rd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33487
(561)953-4600
fax(561)953-4610
[email protected]