RECOVERING DEBTS AND COLLECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
American lawyer Jonathan Capp, Esq. provides skillful and dedicated representation for both Plaintiffs and Defendants in US State and Federal Courts. We have recovered millions of dollars in judgements and settlements for their clients.
From the United States call: (760) 231-6498,
From the UK call 0207 101 9399
From Australia call: 02 8069 7228
email: info@jcclex.com
Collection cases- recovering debts and money owed in the United States
If someone in the United States owes you money then it is important to adopt a strategy if you want to attempt to recover the debt.
First and foremost, it is critical to know whether or not the person you are pursuing is even solvent. To this dilemma you need to know that filing bankruptcy in the United States, and getting debts discharged, is far easier than it is in most other countries including France, the U.K., and Australia.
Of course certain debts cannot be discharged thru bankruptcy. Examples of these are child support obligations, taxes, and significantly debts incurred through fraud or intentional and malicious acts.
In any event, often the first step is to conduct a background check on the person or entity that owes you the money to see if they are collectible. Particularly valuable to know is if the debtor has real estate or other assets that cannot be quickly dissipated.
On this note, if it is probable that the debtor will try and dissipate assets upon learning of the court collection efforts, then we can consider filing for a prejudgment attachment of their assets.
In essence, we ask the judge to quickly freeze the assets of the debtor so as to guarantee eventual payment.
Another point of inquiry is to determine whether there is any written contract relating to the money owed. Sometimes a contract may include a clause requiring that any lawsuit be subject to mediation, arbitration, or be brought in a specific court in a specific location such as Paris, France or Los Angeles, California.
Frequently the contract includes an attorney’s fees clause which provides that the prevailing party in any collection be awarded their reasonable attorney’s fees. Note that the general rule in the United States is that each party pays their own lawyers’ fees whether they win or lose.
If there is an arbitration clause then typically the matter can be resolved more informally and more quickly than going to court.
It may also be worthwhile suing the American defendant in court in your own country, such as the U.K., Australia, or France.
In summary the challenge in collection cases is actually getting the money owed.
Frequently claimants obtain judgements which they simply cannot collect on. The debtor simply has no assets, refuses to pay, or just files for bankruptcy and wipes out the debt. A corporation can simply go out of business.
This is why it is critical to determine and adopt a correct and realistic strategy in a collection matter.
The assistance of a skilled an experienced attorney is especially important.