Tag Archives: Florida Debt Collection

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

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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]

 

Stipulation For Settlement in a Florida Collection Case

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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.

Stephen Gebeloff Florida Colletion Lawyer

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

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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]

 

 

Florida Collection Case Default Judgment

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Stephen Gebeloff Florida Colletion Lawyer

Florida Collection Attorney

In Florida, once a Florida Collection Law Suit has been filed, the Clerk of Court will assign a case number.  The Clerk will also issue a summons to be served on the Florida Debtor with the collection lawsuit.  The summons will direct the  debtor  to file a responsive pleading to the creditors allegations contained in  the complaint within twenty (20) days. If the debtor does not file a responsive pleading,  our Florida collection attorney will petition the Court to enter Default. If a responsive pleading is filed, litigation with ensue pursuant to the Florida Rules of Court. The Florida litigation process will be examined in future posts.

If Default is entered, our Florida collection law firm will prepare an affidavit for the creditor to fill out and return to our office. The affidavit will indicate how much money is due to the creditor.  Once the affidavit  is returned to our Florida collection lawyer will file a motion to enter default judgment with the Court.  Our  Florida collection law firm will ask the court  for  the costs incurred  by the creditor to file the collection lawsuit and prejudgment interest. In Florida each party is responsible to pay  their own attorney’s fees in a collection case unless there is  a written agreement between the parties allowing the recovery of reasonable attorneys’ fees , the purchase orders and or invoices  allow for the recovery of attorney’s fees or as allowed  by a Florida Statute.

Once Default Judgment is entered in Florida, our Florida Collection Firm and collection lawyer will be able to begin enforcing the Judgment and  attempt to collect your money that is due.  Post Judgment collection techniques in Florida will be discussed in other posts on this site.

There are many things to consider when trying to collect a Judgment in Florida. Please feel free to contact our Florida Collection Firm to discuss your Florida collection cases. After a review of your case, Mr. Gebeloff will devise a collection strategy that is appropriate for you.

Contact Stephen B. Gebeloff, P.A., Collection Law Firm at (561) 953-4600 or email Mr. Gebeloff [email protected] to discuss your Florida debt collection needs.

 

The Difference Between a Florida Collection Agency and Florida Collection Law Firm

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Florida Collection Attorney and Collection Law Firm

Florida Collection Attorney and Collection Law Firm

Creditors often ask us what the difference is between using a Florida collection agency or several Florida collection agencies as opposed to using a Florida Collection Attorney or Florida Collection Law Firm. Florida collection agencies do have their purpose. If you are looking for a debt collection strategy that sends out collection letters to debtors and then follows up with repeated calls demanding payment,  a collection agency may work when the age of the account receivable is not that old. But, over time, or even now with businesses having a harder time with their cash flow, collection letters and phone calls from a Florida collection agency may not be enough to get your money collected.

When you use a Florida debt collection law firm or a Florida collection attorney or lawyer, the Florida collection lawyer will be able to start a lawsuit to help you effectuate collection. Receiving a summons and a complaint on a collection case starts the clock ticking for the debtor. The debtor now either knows it will have to offer a plan to settle the collection suit, hire a lawyer to defend the Florida collection lawsuit filed by the lawyer. If the debtor fails to respond, the Florida collection lawyer and or Florida collection law firm will be able to move to enter default judgment. The Florida collection lawyer will be able to then begin to look for assets to garnish.

In summary, Florida collection agencies at times can get the results a creditor is looking for. But, in the end, the urgency for the debtor to act to pay a creditor money that is due is much stronger when the collection demand for payment comes from a Florida collection lawyer or law firm.

It is easy to place a Florida collection account with our firm. 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]

 

Florida Debt Collection Services

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Stephen Gebeloff Florida Colletion Lawyer

Florida Collection Attorney

Florida Debt Collection Services
Boca Raton , Florida

Stephen B. Gebeloff, Esq. has provided his clients in Florida and the United States debt collection services for more than 25 years. The firm focuses its debt collection services on commercial collection matters. Being a boutique Florida collection law firm, allows us to focus our Florida debt collection services on finding solutions for our clients’ toughest debt collection matters and devise strategies to effectively liquidate our clients’ account receivables.

Our Florida debt collection services law firm takes on debt collection matters from accounts that are just past due to cases in which judgment has already been attained but, our client has not been able to collect on its Judgment. We endeavor to resolve all of our Florida debt collection services cases in an expeditious, efficient and costs effective manner for our clients.

We welcome you to contact us to set up a Florida Debt Collection Services  Collection Strategy for your Debt Collection Needs. Contact  Stephen B. Gebeloff, P.A., Collection Law Firm at (561) 953-4600 or email Mr. Gebeloff [email protected] to discuss your debt collection needs.

 

Post Judgment Collection in Florida

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After a Judgment is obtained in Florida there are several different methods to consider to effectively liquidate your judgment. However, as a matter of routine practice a certified copy of the Florida Judgment should be recorded in any Florida county that you believe the debtor may have real property. This will act as a lien against that property. The Judgment should also be recorded with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations to secure a judgment lien against the debtor’s personal property.

Our firm will attempt to garnish a debtor’s bank account if that information is available. Surprisingly, many debtors have paid our clients in the past and still use the same bank account. If there is no banking information available, our collection firm will serve a Fact Information Sheet, pursuant to the Florida Rules of Court on the debtor. If the debtor fails to answer the Fact Information Sheet in a timely manner, our law firm can petition the Court to have the debtor appear before the Court and tell the Judge why it has not furnished our firm with the debtor’s financial information. If the debtor fails to appear before the Court, the Judge can order that a Writ of Bodily Attachment be issued. If that occurs, the debtor will be picked up by the Sheriff’s Department and face possible incarceration for failure to comply and appear before the Court.

Our firm may consider other avenues such as bringing in a successor entity or the debtor’s principals for fraudulently transferring its assets to either an insider of the debtor or another closely held entity. We can take a debtor’s post judgment deposition to discover assets. We can also serve a wage garnishment, if we are able to determine a place of employment for the debtor.

There are many things to consider when trying to collect a Judgment in Florida. Please feel free to contact our Florida Collection Firm to discuss your Florida Post Judgment matter. After a review of your case, Mr. Gebeloff will devise a post judgment collection strategy that is appropriate for you.

Contact Stephen B. Gebeloff, P.A., Collection Law Firm at (561) 953-4600 or email Mr. Gebeloff [email protected] to discuss your post judgment debt collection needs.