by Shawn P. McClure

A couple of months ago, I attended a presentation by a well known trial attorney.  He opened the seminar by stating that he had never represented a Plaintiff/Creditor in a breach of contract action.  Given the fact that the audience consisted of creditors’ rights attorneys, collection agencies and credit managers, this statement raised some eyebrows. 

This gentleman was quick to qualify this statement by saying that he has tried thousands of “broken promise” cases, but never a breach of contract case.  His point was that it is important to remember that these breach of contract cases (i.e. broken promises) are being heard and decided by people just like you and me.  As such, it is important not only to keep things as simple as possible, but to make sure that we don’t exclude the human element to such cases.

I think that this lesson translates to all stages of any collection effort.  It is something that everyone in the credit industry needs to remember.  From the initial telephone call to your Debtor, through the closing argument your attorney makes during a jury trial, all that is at issue is a broken promise.  The key is conveying to those involved, the Debtor, Debtor’s Counsel, Judge, Jury, etc., the simplicity and humanity of the situation.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a “promise” as, “a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified.”  It is as simple as that.  Once you learn to communicate this characterization of your claim to the Debtor or their attorney, your successful collections will undoubtedly increase.  Just remember, don’t break any promises of your own.  If settlement discussions break down and you have threatened legal action, be sure to act promptly by contacting your creditors’ rights attorney.”  

by Scott Schuster, Esq.

There is nothing more frustrating that having one of your biggest customers file for bankruptcy, leaving your company holding a large unpaid debt, and then to be sued later for a “preference.” Clients often ask us: “I was not getting preferential treatment by the debtor, why am I being sued for a preference?” The answer to that question lies at the root of the supposed purposes of preference statutes in the bankruptcy code.

Congress enacted preference statutes for two reasons: 1) to prevent creditors from “dismembering” a struggling debtor during the debtor’s slide into insolvency; 2) to promote equality of distribution (of debtor’s assets) amongst debtor’s creditors.

The former is based on the premise that creditors typically realize when a debtor is struggling financially. Concerned that they debts may not be paid if the debtor enters bankruptcy, those creditors threaten the debtor (with lawsuits) until the debtor agrees to pay the debt. The debtor, at a time when cash flow is already a major problem, pays the debt in hopes of staying afloat by avoiding legal expenses.

If multiple creditors take the same action, the debtor’s limited assets are haphazardly distributed amongst a few select creditors to the detriment of debtor’s other creditors. In the meantime, debtor is stripped of its operating capital and forced into bankruptcy, leaving most of its creditors with unpaid debts.

In theory, the threat of bankruptcy preference actions may prevent creditors from demanding payment once a debtor is in financial turmoil. In reality, the creditor takes whatever action it would normally take and then hopes that more than ninety days pass before the bankruptcy is filed.

The second foundation for preference statutes is equally dubious. More often than not, preference payments are made to unsecured creditors. When money is recovered through preference actions during the preference case, significantly less than 100% of that money is paid to unsecured creditors. Usually, a substantial portion of the recovered assets are paid to administrative creditors (i.e. those that provided goods and services after the bankruptcy was filed) and priority creditors (like taxing authorities and employees).

In fairness, preference actions usually benefit more creditors than they hurt. Again, more often than not, those receiving payments during the 90-days preceding the bankruptcy filing are less in number than creditors that did not receive such payments. Consequently, the end result of preference actions is usually some benefit to unsecured creditors as a whole, but often very little.

In any event, the dual aims of preference statutes described above are rarely achieved.

by Shawn P. McClure

“A quick question for all creditors out there. How many of you require a signature from your customers upon receipt of delivered goods? Better yet, how many of you actually deliver the goods that have been sold?

The more likely scenario is that delivery of your goods to customers is done via a “common carrier.” Generally, a common carrier is a third party business that exists for the transportation of goods and/or people. More specifically, I am referring to all of the goods that you, as a creditor, have sold and shipped to customers via FedEx or UPS.

In those cases, the customer receives the goods from the common carrier and signs for them. As we all know, this signature is often electronic. The common carrier then charges either your or the customer’s account for the shipping depending on the parties’ agreement, and business continues as usual.

Then the customer’s payments start coming late, then payments cease altogether. The customer ignores your demands for payment, and you decide to retain a creditors’ rights attorney.

Suit is filed, and your former customer, now a defendant, files a response denying that the alleged goods were ever received. Your creditors rights attorney provides you with a copy of the defendant’s response, and asks you to address the dispute regarding receipt of the goods.

Once your blood stops boiling and the cursing subsides, you respond that will simply contact the common carrier used, FedEX, and obtain copies of the signed delivery forms. However, your frustration continues to mount when you are told that your common carrier only retains records for a period of six months.

Therein lies the problem. By the time suit is filed and discovery is initiated, it is very likely that the common carrier you used for delivery of the goods has since purged their records in accordance with their own documentation retention system. Even if you were able to contact the common carrier and obtain copies of the documents, there are still a number of evidentiary hurdles present, such as hearsay, authentication and foundation.

One possible solution may be to implement a document retention process regarding signed delivery forms from common carriers into your regular business practices. This may allow you to take advantage of the “Business Records Exception” of evidence. This rule allows for the entry of certain documents, in this case the commone carrier signature documents, in cases where there is not a first hand witness, in this case the FedEx or UPS man, available to testify as to those documents. The rationale for the exception being that employees are under a duty to be accurate in observing, reporting and recording business facts, so that typical concerns regarding reliability of such third party documents are somewhat limited.

In order for a record to meet the requirements of the Business Records Exception, four general requirements must be met: 1) The record was made and kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity; 2) It was the regular practice of the business activity to make the record; 3) The record was made at or near the time of the event that it records; 4) The record was made by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge acting in the regular course of business.

While the implementation of such a system may seem like a troublesome task, once in place it could easily be maintained, and will allow you, as a plaintiff/creditor, to prove your case a lot easier.”

by Scott Schuster, Esq.

A recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette indicates that bankruptcies are once again on the rise. With the economy in a deep recession and unemployment hovering at over 10% with no end in sight, this comes as no surprise. As an attorney that practices almost exclusively in bankruptcy, here are some of my observations about bankruptcies in the past year.

1) Increasingly, secured creditors find themselves “under water,” leaving little to nothing for unsecured creditors through traditional bankruptcy reorganization. In these trying times, 503(b)(9) “20-day” claims are extremely valuable and should always be analyzed before closing a collection file after a customers’ bankruptcy. Don’t assume that you’ll get paid through a plan of reorganization.

2) Many chapter 11 debtors are failing to reorganize due to the lack of “exit” financing in the financial market. This means that creditors doing business with chapter 11 debtors should keep credit terms tight and may want to consider having legal counsel keep an eye on the bankruptcy proceedings. Often times, legal counsel can spot a failure months in advance, allowing creditors to get paid before the debtor is forced to liquidate.

3) More and more, debtors and trustees are looking to preference actions as a means to fund distributions to unsecured creditors. This means creditors should be aware of the defenses to those actions and should review their “danger” clients to make sure that payment times are not getting too high.

4) Fraud seems to have become more prevalent than ever before. In the past, debtors relied on easy credit to fund cash flow shortages and business operations. As debtors face tight credit markets, the pressure to “cut corners” increases. As a result, we’re seeing an increase in falsified financial reports, falsified credit applications, and fraudulent billings. Creditors should be on the look-out for this behavior. Since debts obtained by fraud are not dischargeable through bankruptcy, if a creditor discovers that a debtor has committed fraud in obtaining a debt, the creditor should consider a “nondischargeability action” as a way of maintaining their ability to pursue those debts after bankruptcy.

5) More “good” companies are in bankruptcy than ever before. Previously, with some exceptions, a corporate debtor was in bankruptcy due to one of three things: poor management, a poor business model, or a failing industry. Now, we’re increasingly seeing well run companies in struggling industries (construction, steel, auto) falling victim to difficult economic times. It’s important to keep an eye on the credit terms you extend to even your best customers, as no one seems to be immune from this economy.

by Shawn McClure

As a potential creditor, you have heard this message time and time again.  Do your homework!  Prior to extending credit to a new customer make sure to obtain as much information as possible regarding this new customer’s credit history.  As a creditors’ rights attorney, I urge you to include within this initial investigation the task of finding out a little about the customer’s present operations.  More specifically, find out where this new customer currently banks. 

Customer banking information is extremely valuable in the event that the relationship sours down the road, and you are forced to take legal action to collect on an outstanding account.  Moreover, in the early stages of the creditor/debtor relationship obtaining such information should be effortless.  A new customer who refuses to provide a banking reference should at the very least raise a red flag.     

In my experience, a bank attachment is typically the fastest and most successful form of execution upon a judgment.  It gets the creditor what they want (cash), and it does so in a relatively quick manner (the bank will have twenty days from the date of service to inform a creditor of any funds that may be available).  Of course there are procedural steps that your attorney will need to take in order to receive payment, but those steps can be taken quickly.   

So if in your current practice you are not already asking new customers for banking information, begin doing so.  For existing customers, I would suggest taking the time to note where current payments are coming from.  By expending minimal effort now, you have taken steps that can drastically improve your chances of recovery in the event that the account defaults.

by Jack P. Bock

by Scott Schuster

Small cases, that often do not seem to be worth pursuing at all, can have a big impact on your company’s bottom line. I have often heard clients say “I want to pursue this as a matter of principle, but I’m not sure it’s worth the cost.” Some attorneys agree. However, pursuing and winning such a case tells the world that you are serious about collecting your debts and that message is often far more valuable than expected.

I recently defended a case wherein the debtor attempted to discharge certain student loans through bankruptcy. The amount of the debt was small ($20,000) and the monthly payment ($122 per month for 25 years) was insufficient to make any noticeable impact on the client’s monthly financials.

However, the debtor’s case was absolutely frivolous because the Bankruptcy Code makes discharge of student loans subject to very stringent conditions. The Code states that student loans are not discharged unless the debtor can show that it would be an “undue hardship” to force the debtor repay the debt. Typically, to prove an undue hardship, a debtor must provide evidence that the debtor has minimized his or her expenses and maximized his or her income.

The aforementioned case was frivolous because the debtor, who was disabled and only earned $1,300 per month from social security disability, lived in a $285,000, five bedroom, three bathroom home that was paid for by her husband. Debtor’s SSI income was used to support the $1,800 in mortgage payments the family made each month. More egregiously, the Debtor was disabled when she accepted the student loan and agreed to repay the money.

Despite the fact that paying $122 per month would not cause an “undue hardship,” Debtor filed a complaint seeking to discharge the student loan. The client immediately asked whether the case was “worth pursuing.” Clearly, the client would win the case if we fought hard enough, but the debt was small.

My advice to the client was to take a step back and look at the case in the grander scheme of its business operations. The Debtor’s attorney in the case has practiced for many years and files dozens of bankruptcies each year. If the client were to “roll over” and show that it would not fight the smaller cases, the attorney would know what he could get away with in future cases. One thing I pointed out to the client is that debtors’ attorneys tend to be very friendly with one another and tend to share their experiences. As a result, showing weakness in this case could give rise to dozens of frivolous student loan dischargeability actions in the future.

In the end, we litigated the matter. The parties exchanged discovery, conducted depositions, and eventually filed motions with the court seeking summary judgment. Debtor’s counsel was flabbergasted; he repeatedly said ”I cannot believe your client is fighting this case.” In the end, he probably spent ten times more time and effort on the case than he expected. I flew to Philadelphia to argue the case and put our argument - that Debtor’s lavish lifestyle is not an “undue hardship” - on the record. The Judge agreed and entered an order in our favor, excepting the debt from discharge and guaranteeing that the debtor could not take the easy way out.

Yes, the client spent some money to litigate the case and the immediate result ($122 per month for the next 25 years or so) will make no difference to the client’s year-end profit. However, the client took a stand and made it known that, as a matter of principle, frivolous cases will be defended. Debtor’s attorneys will think twice about filing such a claim the next time around.

Click on this link to see Bob Bernstein talk with Kevin Miller on WPXI’s NightTalk about Bankruptcy and Get P.A.I.D.: A Guide to Getting Paid Faster (and What to do if You Don’t!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsgGf2RIig4

Please feel free to share this link with people.

By Shawn P. McClure

“They stole from me!” “I am not taking a penny less than the full amount owed!” “I want to nail that son of a b#@^$!”  Often creditors engage an attorney to recover an amount owed from a debtor, and the creditor feels betrayed or wronged by the debtor.  It doesn’t matter whether the account debtor is a long time customer who has ignored demands for payment or a one time credit sale; these feelings of animosity toward that individual or entity are still present.  If not checked, these feelings can boil over and lead to unproductive or unnecessary litigation that only ends up costing the creditor more time and money.     

As with any service industry, one of the first duties of a creditors’ rights or bankruptcy attorney is to monitor, deal with and ultimately manage client expectations and emotions.  I would suggest that the first thing that needs to be done is to get your client in an “economical mindset.”  A creditor needs to realize that when a debtor files bankruptcy or the creditor is forced to place an account with a law firm for collection, then the account is already a loss.  For a creditor’s rights attorney the goal then becomes finding the best way to mitigate that loss and obtain the most favorable resolution for their client.

Therefore, every decision during the “recovery” process should be analyzed while taking full account of the economical consequences of that decision.  No where is that more prevalent then when deciding whether or not to initiate litigation.  Immediately filing a lawsuit without a preliminary asset search or investigation into the financial stability of your debtor can turn out to be the most counterproductive thing a creditor can do when trying to be made whole.  Likewise continuing to pursue litigation when it is obvious that there is no financial recovery to be had can only hurt a creditor’s bottom line.

Sounds simple enough.  Why do creditors continue to fall into these same pitfalls?  Emotion.  Creditors become too focused on “punishing” the debtor, and lose focus of the end goal.  Money. 

Luckily, the problems outlined above are easy to remedy.  Creditors, heed your attorney’s advice and try to avoid focusing on the emotions involved in the dispute at hand.  Attorneys, take control of the situation and make it clear to your client that pursuing certain avenues, while emotionally satisfying, will simply lead to the loss of more time and money. 

I understand that sometimes a message needs to be sent, but for those creditors who seek truth and justice in a failed creditor/debtor relationship, I would suggest visiting a house of worship.  It will be less expensive and they may have better luck.