Creditors: Did you know that you can add an individual as the alter ego of a corporate judgment debtor post-judgment? This is one of those special get out of jail free rules that can really help a collection attorney collect your judgment. Per California Code of Civil...
California Commercial Debt Collection Blog
Requirements for Litigation Under the FDBCA
The FDBCA prohibits a debt buyer from filing suit or initiating arbitration or other legal proceedings to collect a consumer debt if the applicable statute of limitations on the debt buyer's claim has expired. See, California Civil Code § 1788.56. When a debt buyer...
Debt Validation Requirements
Under the FDBPA, if the debtor makes a written request to the debt buyer "for information regarding the debt or proof of the debt" then the debt buyer must provide the debtor, within 15 calendar days and without charge, all of the information or documents required by...
The Basics of the Fair Debt Buying Practices Act
On January 1, 2014, the California Fair Debt Buying Practices Act ("FDBPA") went into effect. The Act, which is intended to provide more protections to consumers whose debts have been sold to a debt buyer, only applies to these debt buyers. It does not apply to...
Tools of the Trade
In some cases, obtaining a judgment against a defaulting debtor is only the starting point of the collection process. Unfortunately, there are debtors who would rather fight every step of the way rather than pay back the money borrowed or pay for the goods or services...
How to Levy on a Domain Name
It's always nice to see the law catching up with technology. In Office Depot v. Zuccarini (9th Circuit 2010) 593 F.3d 696, the court ruled that a creditor may levy against (seize) a domain name in the jurisdiction where the domain name registry is located. This...
Entry of Judgement
Until 2003, there was no clear rule on what notice of entry of judgment constituted. Indeed, in Palmer v.GTE California Inc. (2003) 30 Cal.4th 1265, the Supreme Court finally clarified what constitutes written notice. Palmer held that a party may satisfy the statutory...
Settling Before Judgment is Entered
Commercial collection attorneys frequently settle cases before judgment is entered with a payment stream over time and a stipulation for entry of judgment in the event of default. The lynchpin to this resolution is making sure that the court retains jurisdiction...
Return on Your Investment
With the right collection attorney (i.e., a collection attorney that can actually collect), a money judgment can accumulate a sizable 'return on one's investment'. As of January 1, 1983, the rate of interest on a money judgment is 10% per annum. California Code of...
Is Any Property Outside a Creditor’s Reach?
If a debtor voluntarily paid his/her judgment, there would be no need for a collection attorney. Since the failure to pay a creditor back happens more often than not, should a creditor want to enforce a judgment, he needs a competent collection attorney. One of the...