Creditors’ Rights

CPM handles commercial collection from demand through final recovery. Most matters begin with a demand letter and a candid assessment of what the account is realistically worth: what the debtor owns, whether the debt is secured, whether a personal guaranty exists, and whether litigation will cost more than it returns. That assessment happens before the invoice starts running, not after.

Where a negotiated resolution is possible, we pursue it. Forbearance agreements, payment plans and workout arrangements frequently recover more, faster, than a contested judgment — particularly where the debtor is still operating and wants to stay that way. Where the account requires litigation, we file promptly and move.

Commercial lending defaults

For banks, credit unions and other secured lenders, we address defaults across the full range of collateral: accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, vehicles and real property. That includes reviewing perfection before enforcement begins — an unperfected or lapsed security interest changes the strategy entirely — and pursuing commercially reasonable dispositions under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, along with any deficiency that remains. Where a cognovit note is in play, we advise on whether and how to use it, since Ohio permits confession of judgment on commercial debt but not consumer debt, and the distinction matters.

Landlord and tenant insolvency

When a commercial tenant stops paying, the landlord is usually weighing three questions at once: recover the space, recover the arrears, or restructure the lease. We work through all three, including forcible entry and detainer actions, claims against guarantors, and the treatment of lease obligations when a tenant files for bankruptcy protection. Acting early materially improves outcomes here; a landlord who waits two quarters is generally negotiating from a weaker position than one who moves in the first.

When recovery requires litigation, CPM’s creditors’ rights attorneys work alongside the firm’s Banking & Finance and Business Transactions groups, so that the lawyer arguing the case understands the underlying loan, lease or contract as well as the one who papered it.

We bring and defend breach of contract claims, guaranty enforcement actions, fraudulent transfer claims where assets have been moved out of reach, and priority disputes among competing lienholders.

Judgment collection and enforcement

A judgment is not a recovery. The work that produces money begins after it is entered: debtor examinations, garnishment of wages and bank accounts, judgment liens against real property, certificates of judgment filed in every county where the debtor holds assets, and receivership where a business needs to be operated or wound down under court supervision. We also pursue domestication of Ohio judgments in other states, and enforcement of foreign judgments here, which is routine for creditors whose debtors have relocated or hold assets across state lines.

Foreclosure

For secured real estate lenders we handle commercial foreclosure from complaint through sheriff’s sale and confirmation, including receiverships to preserve income-producing property during the case, and deficiency claims where the sale does not satisfy the debt. Where a deed in lieu or a negotiated sale produces a better net result than foreclosure, we say so.

When the debtor files for bankruptcy

A bankruptcy filing stops collection immediately, but it does not end a creditor’s rights. We file and defend proofs of claim, seek relief from the automatic stay where collateral is not adequately protected, object to discharge or to the dischargeability of particular debts, defend preference and fraudulent transfer demands brought against our clients, and represent creditors on committees and in plan negotiations.