The Purpose of an Attorney Demand Letter in a Collection Case

Date March 22, 2014

Upon receipt of a new claim in our office, our lawyers send a debt collection demand letter to the debtor. Our law firm demands that payment be made for the amount that is due and owing to our debt collection clients. The collection demand letter sent to the debtor serves several purposes. The first is to let the debtor know that our collection firm has been retained by the creditor. We are also able to determine if the address is valid to serve the summons and debt collection lawsuit on the defendant if our collection attorneys are unable resolve the matter pre-litigation.

Florida Collection Attorney and Collection Law Firm

During this initial period of time, our collection attorneys will also determine the corporate identity of the debtor. The lawyers from our debt collection law firm will make telephone demands on the debtor. Our collection firm strives to give our debt collection clients an assessment as to the prospects of collecting their money on their past due receivables. In this tough economy our attorneys try to determine if there is a legitimate dispute on the account, the debtor has cash flow problems or simply is flat out ignoring demand for payment of the debt.

Please feel free to contact our 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 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]

Can I Collect Attorneys’ Fees Without a Written Agreement in a Florida Collection Case

Date March 15, 2014

Posted by gebeloff

Yes, typically in order for a creditor to collect attorney’s fees from the debtor there would be to have a credit application, purchase order or invoice that clearly stated that in the event the creditor has to proceed to take collection action, the debtor would be responsible to pay for the reasonable fees and costs of collection. Without any writing allowing for recovery of attorney’s fees, depending on the facts of the case, there may be a Florida Statute that would allow for the award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in the litigation. Absent the above, the general rule in Florida is that each party is responsible for their own attorneys’ fees.

Stephen Gebeloff Florida Colletion Lawyer

Aggressively Pursuing Our Clients’ Interests Tempered by Seasoned Professionalism

However, if there are no provision for attorneys’ fees in the creditor’s documents, a Florida creditor may wish to consider a Proposal for Settlement. In short by filing a proposal for settlement, the creditor would need to be awarded at least twenty-five (25%) percent more than its offer to the defendant. Thus, if a creditor was owed $100.00 and filed an offer for settlement of $50.00, the creditor would need to have a court award at least $75.00 or more. If the creditor extends such an offer and the debtor does not timely accept the offer and the Court awards at least 25% more than the offer, the creditor can apply to the Court for an award of its attorneys’ fees from the date the offer was to have been accepted.

This can be an effective strategy to get a debtor to be more realistic about settling a case. The drawback for the creditor would be that if the debtor accepted the offer for settlement, the creditor would have to settle for 25% less of the full value of the case. Please feel free to contact our Florida collection law firm and speak to our Florida collection attorney about Offers for Settlement and 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 collection 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]

Can Officers of a Corporation Be Personally Liable for Goods Shipped or Sevices Provided

Date March 8, 2014

Posted by gebeloff

Yes, in instances of fraud or if it is proven that the officers made negligent misrepresentations of fact, the officers of a corporation can be held personally liable for the debt of a corporation. A good example would be when the debtor corporation places an order for $1,000.00 of goods and or services but, in reality the corporation, at the time, only had the financial ability to pay for $150.00 . When subsequently trying to collect money due, a creditor should revisit the representations made by the debtor’s agents or employees pertaining to the credit transaction.

Stephen Gebeloff Florida Collection Lawyer

“Aggressively Pursuing Our Clients’ Interests Tempered by Seasoned Professionalism”

If a creditor is anyway mislead as to the debtor’s creditworthiness, or it can be shown that the officers of the debtor corporation knew or should have known the debtor could not afford the goods or services (equitable insolvency), a creditor may be able to impose personal liability on the officers.Please feel free to contact our collection law firm and speak to our collection attorney about the specific facts surrounding your debt collection case. You can email your supporting documents to our collection firm. Our Florida collection attorney will review your account and then contact you to devise a collection strategy for your company.

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

Stipulation For Settlement in a Florida Collection Case

Date March 7, 2014

Posted by gebeloff

Stipulations for Settlement are used in Florida debt collection cases when the debtor cannot commit to pay the full amount due and owing to the creditor in one lump sum payment. The Stipulation sets forth payment terms that are enforced by the Florida Courts. If the debtor makes all installments as agreed, there are no consequences to the debtor. However, if the debtor misses a payment, Judgment is entered for the full amount agreed upon in the Stipulation, less payments previously received and credited to the debtor. Once Judgment is entered post judgment enforcement steps can be taken.

Florida Collection Attorney

Please feel free to contact our Florida collection law firm and speak to our Florida collection attorney 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]

Officer and Director Liabilty in a Florida Collection Case

Date March 2, 2014

Posted by gebeloff

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.

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]