Risk Management Blog

Searching the correct party and correct legal name is imperative when coordinating due diligence search efforts. It is important to search all names under which liens could be filed. This may seem simple and obvious, but keep in mind that liens, particularly involuntary liens like federal tax liens and judgment liens, could be filed under business names, individual names, aliases, nicknames, or even fictitious business names. So,… >> READ MORE

The amount of liens filed in a given state’s filing office can number in the millions making accuracy, and the ability to uncover name variations,  paramount when analyzing search results. Each individual Secretary of State filing office has a set of rules called “standard search logic” that determines what search results will show for a given search. Here’s the official definition: Standard Search Logic: The search logic used… >> READ MORE

As promised, this week’s blog post will delve a little deeper into the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) through a discussion of Article 9: Secured Transactions. According to the Law Library,  Secured Transactions are, “Business dealings that grant a creditor a right in property owned or held by a debtor to assure the payment of a debt or the performance of some obligation.” In a little more detail, a Secured Transaction is a financial… >> READ MORE

Having an agent to receive service of process (SOP) is not limited just to the formation or qualification of a business. Agents for SOP may be required in cross-border loan transactions or when registering with government agencies other than a Secretary of State or an equivalent special agency. Below we break down the different agent representation and their purposes. Companies forming or qualifying to do business are required to appoint… >> READ MORE

When performing civil litigation searches as part of a pre-funding due diligence investigation, we find that most customers elect to search the State Court of General Jurisdiction. For a more comprehensive search effort, many will also add a search of the U.S. District Court. State Court of General Jurisdiction These courts are the primary trial courts of the state court system. Each state manages its state court system differently and… >> READ MORE

Your growing UCC portfolio is a sign of your success. To support it, perhaps it’s time to consider upgrading your UCC Portfolio Manager by installing an API for UCC, an enhancement that consolidates your UCC management into one single system. Designed specifically to streamline and simplify your UCC processes and scale with your success, API for UCC gives you the power to manage your growing UCC portfolio efficiently while freeing you… >> READ MORE

In last week’s blog post, we noted that a creditor files a UCC Financing Statement to give public notice of their interest in a debtor’s collateral and to secure a priority position to collect should the debtor default. This week we are going to talk a little more about UCC Financing Statements by looking at the National UCC Financing Statement form. You can follow this link to the National UCC Financing Statement form and Instructions:… >> READ MORE

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a bit of a misnomer given that its interpretation and application varies widely from state to state. With this, our final “UCC Month” blog post, I want to draw attention to a few state-specific UCC rules. Filing and Recordation Taxes (AL, FL, MD, TN) Alabama, Florida, Maryland and Tennessee have special rules that may require the payment of taxes at the time of filing UCC documents. Any taxes… >> READ MORE

You can, but keep in mind that according to the Uniform Commercial Code, filing under a trade name (dba) alone is not sufficient to perfect a security interest. In order to perfect, a secured party must file under the legal name of the debtor; a “dba” name does not constitute a legal name. A secured party may file under both the legal name and the trade name if they wish. Please refer to our previous blog post, Omit “dba” Notation… >> READ MORE

That’s a good question, and revisions to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code over the years has looked to clarify the answer. It comes down to determining the business entities’ State of Organization and the State of Residence for individuals. Revised Article 9 sets forth that UCC Financing Statements filed against business entities are to be filed in their state of organization. UCCs filed against individuals must be filed in… >> READ MORE