Representing both Creditors and Debtors in the collection or defense of judgment enforcement matters.

Many lawsuits result in judgments, but those judgments are worthless unless they are enforced.  Enforcement of judgments is an unusual area of the law and few attorneys are familiar with the specific statutes and case law used to turn a judgment into actual payments or property.  The judgment liens must be recorded and the procedures for Garnishment or Levy must be followed carefully.  In some cases, these common forms of judgment execution are not enough, and extraordinary remedies must be used.  These extraordinary remedies include Proceedings Supplementary, Fraudulent Transfers, piercing the corporate veil, alter ego business entities, Charging Orders, Break Orders and Receiverships.

Mr. Coburn has extensive experience in complex judgment enforcement, including the most difficult cases.  He has represented both creditors and debtors in this area.  He has taught many seminars to other attorneys on “Judgment Enforcement” and “Advanced Judgment Enforcement.”  

He is the author of the “Extraordinary Remedies ” chapter in the Florida Bar’s Creditors and Debtors Practice in Florida, 6th. Ed. book, used as a reference by Florida Attorneys.  Mr. Coburn also wrote the same chapter in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th editions of the same book.  The 6th Edition was published in January, 2017.  Mr. Coburn’s chapter in the third edition of this book has been cited by several Florida District Courts of Appeals: Okaloosa New Opportunity, LLC v LD Projects, LLC,109 So.3d 1209 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013); MB Plaza, LLC vs. Wells Fargo Bank, 72 So.3d 205 (Fla. 2^nd DCA); B & I Contractors, Inc. v Mel Re Construction, 66 So.3d 1035 (Fla. 2^nd DCA 2011).  

Mr. Coburn has represented creditors seeking to enforce judgments against a wide range of debtors.Some of these include:

· Seeking to collect a judgment when the judgment debtor has hidden his assets by transferring them to a family member.

· Seeking to set aside the fraudulent transfer of a trademark,

· Seeking to enforce a judgment against assets held by a single-member limited liability company when the creditor held a judgment against the owner,

· Enforcing a judgment against a husband and wife who transferred all of their assets into corporations held by other persons,

· Seeking to set aside sales of real property for less than reasonable value when a developer knew it was about to have a judgment entered against it,

·Tracing the money transferred by a debtor corporation to various relatives and friends of the owner of the corporation.

Most of these cases settle before an actual trial is necessary on the complex issues involved, but it is necessary at times to take these issues to trial.  Mr. Coburn has extensive trial experience in these kinds of cases.  Mr. Coburn will handle these matters on an hourly fee basis, but will also handle some judgment collection cases on a contingency fee basis.

Mr. Coburn has also represented debtors in judgment enforcement cases.  These cases include:

· Defending a client from a 14 year old judgment which was improperly assigned to a ‘debt buyer’ by tracing the persons involved with the assigning company to show that the person who assigned the judgment did not have authority.

· Defending a client from a 12 year old judgment when that client owned real property which exceeded the homestead limits.

· Defending a client from a 8 year old judgment when the client was never served with the summons in the original case.

· Helping a client negotiate a reasonable settlement based upon an understanding of which assets could be protected from the claims of creditors.

If you have a creditor or a debt buyer seeking to enforce a judgment against you, Mr. Coburn can review the circumstances of the judgment, your financial status, help you determine your exempt assets and analyze your likely defenses to the claims. He can assist you with discovery requests and help you minimize your losses.  Mr. Coburn handles these matters on an hourly fee basis or on a fixed fee basis.