Liens / Creditor's Rights

Peak Law Provides Full Litigation Support For a Variety of Creditors Including:

• Secured creditors
• Unsecured creditors
• Private lenders and private mortgage holders
• Business loans and receivables
• Landlords
• Manufacturers
• Suppliers

Affordable Legal Services

Peak Law counsels clients regarding breach of contract issues, collateral, financing, Federal Bankruptcy Law, the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”), and Statutes of Limitation.

Collections and Credit

Before extending credit to a consumer, businesses conduct credit checks. A credit check provides information about a consumer’s history of repaying debts and financial status, and it verifies credit references. Any business that extends credit to a consumer must follow federal and state consumer laws. Businesses are not permitted to discriminate against an otherwise qualified applicant on the basis of color, race, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or religion.

Liens  

When businesses extend credit to a consumer, they run the risk of a consumer not repaying the debt. Some businesses attempt to collect the debt themselves, while others hire a debt collection agency or choose to go straight to a law firm for help.

Peak Law provides services to review debt, contracts & evidence.  Our process includes demand letters, filing suit, processing judgments & liens to encourage debtors to pay the outstanding balance. 

Filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy triggers an “automatic stay." This prohibits creditors and debt collection agencies from continuing their collection activities, including harassing phone calls, collection lawsuits, or wage garnishment. The automatic stay provides a sense of relief to a debtor and allows him or her time to develop a financial plan going forward. However, creditors can ask the court to lift the stay, meaning it would no longer apply to them and they could continue their collection efforts.

The court is more likely to grant motions to lift the stay by certain creditors. Secured creditors can ask the court to remove the stay if collateral is inadequately protected or the debtor has not been making payments. For example, a mortgage holder may ask the court to lift the stay so it can continue with a foreclosure sale. As a debtor, you can try to pay the arrearages to bring the payments current or show reasons why the creditor’s motion to lift the stay should be denied.

Landlords are also often granted motions to lift stays in order to proceed with evictions for nonpayment of rent. While a pre-bankruptcy rent is dischargeable, a post-bankruptcy rent is not dischargeable. If you have not paid rent since filing for bankruptcy, the court is likely to grant the motion to lift the stay so that the landlord can evict you. Motions to lift an automatic stay for unsecured debts are usually only granted where the unsecured debt is not going to be discharged by bankruptcy, such as when child support is at issue.