When a company must go after a debtor for payment, each day that they don’t have access to the money they are owed makes a difference. If you are in this situation, it is important that you do everything you can to secure payment of your debt, even before you have your judgment hearing. Massachusetts Rule 65 of Civil Procedure allows those in litigation to bring a motion for an injunction against the other party. At Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC, we often use injunctions to prevent debtors from hiding their assets.
What does an injunction do?
An injunction is a court order to stop one party from doing something while their legal matter is under litigation. They can be used in all kinds of legal disputes. They are particularly useful when the action in question would be very difficult to undue. For example, if the demolition of a historic building is in dispute, the party opposing demolition may request an injunction against it until litigation is complete, since demolishing the building cannot be undone.
How does Rule 65 apply to collections?
When it comes to collections, injunctions can be very useful to prevent the debtor from spending the money you are trying to claim. Not every court will issue an injunction, but if you can show good reason to think the debtor may try to hide or spend the money, you could be successful. Injunction requests require notice to the other party. You must also show that you have a personal guarantee from the business owner, or show some other reason for personal jurisdiction, in order to request an injunction preventing them from moving their money.
In addition to an injunction, Rule 65 also provides for temporary restraining orders (TROs). TROs do not necessarily require notice to the other party, but they are often limited to 10 days. They may still be useful in certain collection situations, especially if alerting the debtor to your intentions could encourage the debtor to hide their money.
Seek help to handle your legal action
As someone trying to run a business, you have many things to worry about. Chasing down bad debt should not be one of them. The experienced commercial collection attorneys at Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC are here to help you. Allow us to take on your legal action so you can focus on your business. We have been doing commercial collections since 1994. It is all we do, and we do it well. Call us at 508-763-6604 or send us an email to schedule an appointment. We can help you recover the money you deserve.