California Business Debt Defense Attorney

Performance or Flat Fees available for all pre-litigation claims against you or your business

Commercial debt can be the hardest debt to resolve. Be it space or equipment leases, Merchant advances, Payroll loans, Vendors, or anyone else, Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC can resolve it for you.

First, what is a Business Debt? (aka Commercial debt)

Business debts are what you think they are: debt obligations incurred on behalf of the business. Typical examples are tools, supplies, inventory purchased in order to operate the business. Gifts bought for your wife on company credit cards are not business debts, but gifts bought for suppliers are. Some purchases are not as easy to classify. For example, auto expenses are a common area of crossover between business and personal.

*Personal Guarantees: if the debt is for business, it is business. The fact that an individual is responsible for the debt does not change the type of debt. The easiest way to think about it is: what did the money go for (business purpose or not), not who is going to pay it.

Second, Why is it Important to Determine if Debt is Business or Personal?

The law treats each type of debt differently. The laws prohibiting collection abuses do not apply to business debts. These laws only apply to “consumer debts”. Therefore, other than generic laws prohibiting harassing conduct, there is no limitation on when or how many times a collector can call on a business debt.

Featured Case Results

• MAY 17, 2022: Small Business has bank account levied and can't make payroll. Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC gets it reversed AND reduces amount of judgment by $50,000! All for legal fees less than $1800!! In 2021 an employee staffing company filed a lawsuit against our Client in the Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that our Client was liable for $234,971.70 in damages. A default judgment was entered against our client, unbeknownst to them. Our Client discovered the case against them when a lien was placed on their business bank account, freezing their payroll funds. Our client was in a very weak legal and financial position. The judgment balance was now over $250,000. Nonetheless, Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC secured a settlement whereby $100,000.00 of the money frozen would be given to the judgment creditor and the remainder of the frozen money would go back to our client so they could make payroll. In addition, the entire matter was settled, and Client saved over $50,000. The the attorney fees charged to our client were less than $1800!!! It is extremely tough for small business today. Good legal counsel is necessary to survive.
• February 16, 2022: Funds in the amount of $196,337.60 returned. Sister-State Judgment in the amount of $188,351.20 Vacated and client’s levied funds in the amount of $196,337.60 returned! An Application for Entry of Judgment on a Sister State Judgment was filed against our client on December 4, 2020, in Orange County Superior Court. We made numerous efforts to reach an amicable resolution with opposing counsel, but those efforts proved futile. We then filed a motion on May 7, 2021, to vacate the sister state judgment. After a long, hard-fought battle, the court sided with us and ordered the sister state judgment vacated. On that same day opposing counsel filed a Release of Abstract of Judgment resulting in our client’s funds being returned to his account. (Pelgrim vs. Client - Case No. 30-2020-011733XX-CU-EN-CJC – Orange County)
• January 7, 2022 Client Saves $26,758.00!  A civil court judgment against our client in the amount of $49,000.00, was settled for $22,242.00! (Los Angeles Unified School District - Koeller Nebeker Carlson Haluck, LLP - v. Client. Case #BC5496XX- Los Angeles County Superior Court)
• December 29, 2021: $280,692.00 was settled for $101,150.00, Saving our client nearly $180,000!
• November 19, 2021: $20,701.00 Swift Capital, was settled $7,630.00. Saving our client 63%!
• November 04, 2021:  A lawsuit in the amount of $474,617.00 was settled for $100,000.00 Saving our client 78% of the debt! (ARCPE 1, LLC – Prober & Raphael A Law Corporation vs Client. Case No. BCV-20-1011XX- Kern County)
• October 13, 2021: A Judgment against our client in the amount of $6,984.00.00 was settled for $3,000.00! Saving our client over 57%! (L.A. Commercial Group Inc – Law Offices of Carol R. Hamilton v. Client. Case #CIVSB21053XX – San Bernardino County)
• August 12, 2021: $10,191.00 Fundbox was settled $3,600. Saving our client 64%!
• February 4, 2021: A Judgment against our client in the amount of $152,183.00 was settled for $40,000.00! Saving our client over 73%! (ESBF California, LLC v. Client. Case #CPF 17-5156XX – San Francisco County)
• Commercial lease settlement: Client had a 2010 judgment for unpaid retail lease payments that had grown to $165,600. We settled this for $28,000 in payments! (OCSC case# 30-2009-003173XX)

DISCLAIMER: Every case is different. Results depend on the unique law and facts of each case. Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC makes no guarantees or warranties about the outcome of any particular matter or case. The Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC website, or the information contained within the website, should be construed as ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

Lastly, Who Owes a Business Debt?

The first question on business debts is: who is the debtor? Is it you or the business or both? If you, as an individual, obtained the credit, or personally guaranteed the payment, then a claim can be made against you personally, regardless if it was for business purposes or not. If your business is a sole proprietor or partnership, you can be held personally responsible for the creditor’s claims. If the business was/is a duly authorized and properly maintained corporation or LLC and there is no personal guarantee, you cannot be held personally responsible.

FITZGERALD & CAMPBELL, APLC can help you to determine:

• Is the debt personal or business?
• Who is responsible for the debt?
• What will happen if you default on the debt?
• What we may be able to settle it for

Affordable Fees: We give businesses the choice of either a flat fee or performance based fee to settle creditor claims against your business.  If there is a lawsuit filed or a judgment already entered, we resolve those matters on a flat fee basis so you know exactly what your costs will be. Our flat fees include all expenses, even court filing fees and include trial. We also have very affordable payment plans.

COVID-19 was responsible for many businesses failing. If you decide that your business is going to fail, you will want to know if anyone will be able to go after you personally when the business is shut down. Call us for a FREE CONSULTATION to find out. DON’T IGNORE it, it’s not going to go away!

Suggested Reading:

• Business Debts & Personal Debts: When the Two Intersect