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| Timothy Carl
Aires |
One of the effects of the expanding global marketplace is the
increasing difficulty of getting paid for goods sold or services
rendered. As businesses develop far off accounts, collection of
receivables takes on an intimidating dimension. What does an Ohio
manufacturer do when a California customer won’t pay? What
additional complexities are involved if the manufacturer is located
in Indonesia?
Timothy Carl Aires has had great success enforcing claims
against unwilling debtors. He attributes his success to several
factors:
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| Knowledge of
the Law |
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Aires opines that "The ability to direct the court to the particular
statute which allows it to grant the creditor’s requested relief is
key. ... I remember an instance at an ex parte hearing when we were
after a Porsche 928S. The judge asked, ‘where does it say in here
[referring to the California Code of Civil Procedure] that I can
order the marshal to kick the debtor’s garage door in for you’. I
replied,‘§699.030 sir’." |
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| Experience
Counts |
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"In my years of collection practice, I have seen some astounding
things," remarks Aires. "On the eve of an attachment hearing,
husband and wife debtors fraudulently transferred assets to the
wife’s cousins. Ultimately, our client prevailed in obtaining an
equitable lien on the assets and a $300,000 judgment against the
cousins. On another occasion, we were faced with a real estate mogul
whose empire had collapsed years earlier leaving a myriad of
judgments against him. When we were asked to enforce one of the
judgments, the debtor was conducting business through a new
corporation. He used the corporation’s checking account on an
as-needed basis as if it were his own. The corporation leased a
house in La Jolla and a Jaguar for his use. Despite the debtor’s
efforts, an agreement was reached when we raised the specter of
the appointment of a receiver to prevent the debtor from having the
corporation pay his lavish living expenses so as to avoid having his
earnings applied toward satisfaction of the judgment." |
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| Wide Ranging
Remedies |
| "The Code provides a wide range of remedies to the skilled
practitioner," notes Aires. "General civil litigators often have an
insufficient understanding of execution, attachment, claim and
delivery, creditors’ suits, remedies against fraudulent transfers,
charging orders, liens in pending actions, assignment orders,
receivership and remedies available against trusts." |
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| The Debtors'
Achilles Heel |
| Grant deeds, trust deeds, leases, financing statements, title
records, and other legal documents can be used to defraud creditors.
In all of these situations, there is a willing accomplice. "I recall
a case where we established that the corporation was the alter ego
of the principal shareholder, who then post-judgment claimed to be
insolvent. After he evaded service of an examination order, we
examined his wife. She inadvertently made reference to a recent trip
to Aspen. When asked how she traveled, she stated, ‘We took the
jet.’ Further investigation of FAA title records revealed that the
husband had transferred his private jet to his children, even though
he was the only one licensed to fly. Our exposure of the fraudulent
transfer resulted in an agreement to satisfy the $240,000 judgment."
Insight and savvy pay big rewards. "In one case," cites Aires, "we
had a debtor with a federal tax lien. We also knew that the debtor
had a payment arrangement in place. We took action which we believed
would cause a default under the payment arrangement and thereby
trigger an IRS levy. We knew the debtor would never allow that, and
we were right. A favorable result for our client followed." |
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| Courtroom
Presence |
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| Aires has a unique courtroom presence, bringing color and
imagery to his arguments. Aires' favorite instance involves his
effort to make his point at a post-judgment hearing to appoint a
receiver to enforce a judgment against a recalcitrant debtor. "At
this moment, your Honor, I am reminded of a scene from a classic
motion picture. In that scene, Dorothy returns to the Emerald City
with the Wicked Witch’s broomstick in hand. Upon hearing how the
Witch met her end, the Wizard comments, ‘You liquidated her, how
resourceful!’ Your Honor, this debtor is very wicked and, therefore,
my client must be very resourceful. We ask that you appoint a
receiver to enforce my client’s judgment by liquidating the debtor."
There is no substitute for an experienced
creditors’ rights attorney with a knowledgeable support staff and
state of the art information systems technology. Timothy Carl Aires
is the Creditors' Rights Attorney. |
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