In the context of secured transactions, the importance of a properly completed and filed UCC-1 financing statement (“UCC-1”) cannot be overstated. While a UCC-1 is often the simplest document in a transaction — i.e., a...more
Subordination agreements can be used to impact the priority of all lien holders, whether a bank or a contractor, on a project. In a recent decision, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals found a subordination agreement valid to...more
A bankruptcy court in New Jersey recently granted a debtor’s motion to dismiss the counterclaims of two creditors who purchased a percentage of the debtor’s future receivables prepetition. The court rejected the creditors’...more
The State of Nevada has enacted the Uniform Mortgage Modification Act (UMMA or the Act) as Assembly Bill 192, which will become effective on October 1, 2025. The UMMA was prepared by the National Conference of Commissioners...more
Pursuant to Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) § 9-515(c), a UCC-1 financing statement filed to perfect a secured party’s lien on personal property collateral lapses five years from the filing date unless the secured creditor...more
From a practical business perspective, you can evade disaster, protect your payments from others’ financial shortages, and avoid the pitfalls of another’s bankruptcy—and still end up first—with a bit of knowledge, planning,...more
Q: I was appointed receiver over a manufacturing facility. I operated it for a short time and then obtained court authority to sell it. I netted $1.4 million from the sale....more
Q: I was appointed receiver over a manufacturing facility. I operated it for a short time and then obtained court authority to sell it. I netted $1.4 million from the sale. The landlord agreed I could pay it the rent I owed...more
On August 24, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held that the plain language of an intercreditor agreement governed the lenders’ priority with respect to a borrower’s collateral. Cattle operator...more
A recent appellate decision from Alberta, Manitok Energy Inc. (Re), marks another chapter in the developing caselaw surrounding environmental obligations in insolvency proceedings. In the decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal...more
A charging order is a device used by a judgment creditor to collect on a judgment against an LLC member. The charging order imposes a lien on the judgment debtor’s economic (or “transferable”) interest in the LLC — the order...more
Modifying a loan can sometimes cause a loss of lien priority. It all depends on the facts underlying the modification, and even the original loan....more
Courts overseeing receivers generally enjoy broad discretion in directing and approving a receiver’s proposed actions. But does that authority extend to a receiver not only granting a super-priority lien ahead of existing...more
Secured creditors have many choices when it comes to how to file a proof of claim in bankruptcies. Those choices should be weighed carefully, however, because certain choices can have important unexpected consequences that...more
Oscar Wilde is quoted for saying—“To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.” This advice certainly holds true for a senior deed of trust lienholder contemplating foreclosure on real property security. ...more
In the twenty-first century, superheroes are all the rage. Alive and well are never-ending debates about the superiority of DC characters versus Marvel characters, or heroes that are born super, such as Superman, versus those...more
After a number of controversial bills proposed from various industry groups over the last few years, the Tennessee construction community came together in 2020 to push through legislation intended to protect members of the...more
After a foreclosure sale by a senior creditor, California’s Civil Code section 2924k governs how the sale proceeds are applied in the following order of priority...more
When owners file bankruptcy or projects otherwise go south, lien priority often comes to the forefront. The idea is relatively simple. Priority is how courts determine which creditors get paid first. This often pits...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Surviving Lien: Lender’s lien on mobile home survived foreclosure sale of property where mobile home was located; mobile home remained personal property outside scope of foreclosure –...more
A lot goes into the making of great wine, and when a winery becomes financially unstable, there are multiple competing interests that need to be satisfied, including the banks that provide the winery with financing, the...more
The statutory scheme governing nonjudicial foreclosure — found in California Civil Code sections 2924 through 2924k — aims for speed, efficiency, and finality. For example, a bid at a trustee’s sale is deemed to be an...more
COVID-19 has brought about new economic uncertainty that is disrupting supply chains, from farmers and ranchers to cooperatives, from processors to grocery stores, and all of the way down to consumers. Even solvent purchasers...more
In Whirlpool Corp. v. Wells Fargo Bank (In re hhgregg Inc.), Case No. 18-3363 (7th Cir. Feb. 11, 2020), the Seventh Circuit held that a trade creditor’s later-in-time reclamation claim was subordinate to lenders’ pre-petition...more
Everyone is familiar with the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” method of resolving disputes where scissors cut paper, paper covers rock, and rock breaks scissors. In Futuri Real Estate, Inc. v. Atlantic Trustee Services, the Virginia...more