Lessors of over-the-road trucks may find themselves becoming inventory lessors. This installment warns lessors to keep a close eye on certificates of title when another party is subleasing leased trucks. To sublease, Weinberg says, requires more due diligence than simply noting your interest on a certificate of title.... read more

October 2007

In August, a federal grand jury filed numerous charges including money laundering, bankruptcy fraud and obstruction of justice against Alan B. Fabian, the founder of Strategic Partners International and a former co-chair to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s election committee, in the latest fraud scandal to hit the news.... read more

October 2007

... read more

October 2007

Are assignee’s rights limited in a bankruptcy case? By looking into the recent case of In re Boyajian, 367 B.R. 138 (B.A.P. 9th Cir.), filed on March 30, 2007, we can now determine whether an assignee can submit nondischargeability claims against dishonest debtors, lessees or guarantors.... read more

September/October 2007

Identity theft has become quite common — but what can creditors do when it strikes? This installment focuses on two areas: The first discusses fraud prevention methods and red flags, which can help creditors from funding transactions tainted by identity theft. The second discusses creditor rights when contacted by legal counsel with a claim that an individual obligor’s identity has been stolen.... read more

September/October 2007

When Pennsylvania’s Sterling Financial Corporation announced on April 30 that it would restate its earnings for the past two years and was postponing its 2007 annual shareholder meeting, there was little to suggest the magnitude of what would follow.... read more

July/August 2007

Ask not for whom the clarion bells ring. If you’re a careful lender or lessor, they ring for thee. Careful lenders need to know what is “new” about eDiscovery and why it is important to prepare for it now, even for a lawsuit that has not yet been filed. Chapman and Cutler’s Jeffrey Close takes a closer look at the requirements needed for a well-prepared ESI inventory.... read more

July/August 2007

In this issue, Monitor columnist Lesley Hawes provides the summary of the Marrama v. Citizen’s Bank of Massachusetts case and the Supreme Court’s decision detailing if a Chapter 7 debtor can transfer its case to a Chapter 13 or other proceeding if he/she acted in bad faith of the court, as well as the effects this ruling will have on future cases.... read more

July/August 2007

An industry with a myriad of finance structures and even more colorful names (such as split TRAC’s, first amendment, leveraged, synthetic, dirty, finance, put and security leases) has added another — the Equipment Finance Agreement (EFA). This installment discusses EFAs and their impact on the future of the industry.... read more

July/August 2007

Creditors are often faced with the dilemma as to whether they can recover their legal fees incurred in a bankruptcy once the lessee or debtor files a bankruptcy petition. In the Travelers’ case, the U.S. Supreme Court tackled the question as to whether a creditor may recover attorney’s fees authorized by a prepetition contract and incurred in postpetition litigation.... read more

May/June 2007

This edition discusses the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its application on commercial leasing transactions. Although not a hot topic in the press, the FCRA still impacts commercial leasing transactions when credit reports are pulled from consumer reporting agencies. Those creditors that do not follow the FCRA can face legal consequences.... read more

May/June 2007

In this issue, Ken Weinberg discusses the Commercial Money Center, Inc. case, and the decision, which determined that payment intangibles are separate from the lease itself. The results of this case offer some recommendations funders may want to consider.... read more

March/April 2007

The arrival of 2007 was not very happy for the lenders who are the subject of two recent decisions. In opinions issued in the first two weeks of this year, the courts sent a strong message — don’t expect a sympathetic reception when you fail to perfect your security interests promptly.... read more

March/April 2007

This article addresses corporate fraud and malfeasance as a given in today’s business finance environment. Not that it is prevalent in every corporate financing transaction, or even in a majority or them — but when it is present in a company being financed or its management team, it is both costly and disruptive to the victim. The costs can be measured as real costs, opportunity costs and even brand dislocation or wasting.... read more

January/February 2007

Many lease agreements contain an “interim rent” provision enabling the lessor to charge for the use of the lease property for the time period between the actual acceptance date and the date on which the base term of the lease commences. Although interim rent is well established, it’s not specifically addressed in the UCC. Therefore, it’s valuable to have an understanding of how it’s used and how the courts enforce it.... read more

January/February 2007