case closed....
The cases that follow generally only reflect the dollar amount listed in the Summons and Complaint. If we had not been retained to negotiate settlements, almost every case would have resulted in a Default Judgment against the defendant. Those judgments are typically increased by an additional 20 to 25% to include attorney's fees, court cost, interest and penalties. If that wasn't bad enough, post judgment interest accrues at a rate of 10% in Connecticut. That effectively doubles your debt every 7.2 years. Don't let that happen to you. Tell us about your unique circumstance and we can probably find a solution you will be happy with.
recent cases
VIDEO PRODUCTION COMPANY
The owner of this company had his company’s assets invested in a project that went south due unforeseen and unpredictable political conflict. Like most small to medium sized companies, the owner personally guaranteed his company’s lease contracts. The leasing company sued him for over $50,000 in contractual lease payments. They settled for $12,500 with $2000 down and the balance over 36 months.
CASH FOR GOLD COMPANY
This company got in early on the business cycle and was very profitable for five years. Later on, profit margins got squeezed and cost remained flat. They tried to save the business with heavy advertising funded with credit cards. The business could no longer afford the minimum payments as revenue declined. The credit card balance of over $127,000 was negotiated down 40 % and settled with a payment plan.
MANUFACTURING COMPANY
In an attempt to cut cost, this wire manufacturer contracted to buy electricity for 5 years from a third party supplier. Several years into the contract, after being assured it was legal to do so, they canceled the first contract and signed with another company. Turns out the first contract was valid and enforceable. First company sued for about $32,000.
We were able to arrange a settlement for a lump sum of $12,500.
SURVEYING COMPANY
The company had shrunk over last few years from 10 people to just the two partners. The debt service on several leased specialty copiers was beyond their ability to maintain. Finance company sued for $12,934.00 plus cost. Rather than repossess the copiers, suit was settled in full for a single lump sum payment of $2,000.00 .
BUILDING CONTRACTOR
Construction project involved with municipality went way over budget. General contractor considered bankruptcy. Sub- contractor sued for $32,662.00. Further investigation revealed discrepancies in the claim the entire claim to be legitimate. Sub contractor agreed to accept $7,100.00 as full settlement; paid in two installments.
METAL FABRICATION COMPANY
This company had hired a consultant several years ago to review premiums paid for workman's compensation insurance. Their fee was to be based on the company's premium savings. Actual savings was in dispute. Do to miscommunications, some refund claims may not have been submitted in time. As a result, client was sued for $38,278.00 plus fees and cost. We settled case for one lump sum payment of $15,500.00.
TRUCKING COMPANY
Of the three trucks this company used, one was leased from a national truck rental company. Do to some mechanical problems, they returned the leased truck. However, the rental company wanted additional lease payments covering some periods when the truck may not have been fully functional. Unfortunately, the contract signed was very one sided. The suit was for $10,648.00 plus the typical attorney fees, interest and court cost. The final settlement was for $4,500 to be paid over 10 monthly installments.
CUSTOM CABINET COMPANY
Like many other businesses, they found that after completing a large job, their customer filed for bankruptcy. They not only lost revenue but were unable to pay the vendor who had supplied much of the materials. Operating Margins were too thin. The vendor sued them for $8,859.00. They settled for a lump sum of 4,800.00
HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTOR
This client was involved with a large commercial construction project where the lead contractor filed for bankruptcy. My client lost everything except for the tools in his truck. His truck was leased and he fell behind on the payments. The leasing company sued for $7,983.00. After negotiation, the national leasing company accepted terms of $3,660.00 to be paid off in monthly installments of $100 per month.
INSULATION CONTRACTOR
This individual purchased an expensive specialized truck used for blowing insulation into homes. Then he got sick and was unable to work for 6 months. No work, no money. He fell behind on his payments to the bank that financed the purchase. Bank repossessed his truck and sold it at a loss; then sued him for their loss of $58,546.00 plus attorney's fees and expenses. The fact that my client owned a number of rental properties made the bank less inclined to settle. Eventually they did settle for $30,000.00. Our client agreed to pay a lump sum of $5000 and then monthly payments of $1,600 for 36 months.
USED CAR SALES
Car sales are especially hard hit in an economic downturn. That's what happened here. Revenue could not keep up with expenses and he fell behind on his bills. The local auto parts dealer did not want to wait for his next sale to pay down an ever increasing balance. They sued to collect the $7,137.00 that he owed on account, they agreed to accept $3,750.00 as payment in full.
HALLOWEEN COSTUME STORE
This business is only open for about 6 week every year right before Halloween. 90% of their revenues usually happens during the last weekend before Halloween. An unexpected snow storm all but canceled the trick or treating. My client was left with a lot of inventory and no revenue to pay bills. They had tried to hold off creditors for a year and sell last year’s merchandise a year later. It almost worked;then one creditor sued for $33,524.00 plus cost. After bring us in, we convinced the creditor to allow them to reopen the following year and accept a lump sum settlement of only $8,282.00 as payment in full.
GARDEN SUPPLY COMPANY
This one man shop basically sold pumps and plant supplies to landscapers and garden designers to build water features. After he sent out his catalog with prices, his wholesaler dramatically increased his prices. Since he had already accepted orders based on his published prices, he was squeezed on both cost and revenue. After calling us in to help, his pump wholesaler, who had sued him for $6,232.00, decided to accept $3,182.00 as payment in full.
ROOFING COMPANY
This Roofing company had contract with an advertising company to promote their business in a telephone directory as well as on the internet. There was apparently some confusion about what the terms and cost were supposed to be. Unfortunately for my client, the plaintiff had much better records and recordings of the contract's commitment. Even still, the plaintiff's suit for $10,682.00 was amicably settled for a lump sum payment of $5,314.00.
GRAPHICS COMPANY
This company had two of its largest customers close their doors. .Both left some sizable receivables to my client noncollectable. This left them so short of working capital that they were unable to pay all their bills. Their health insurance company sued for $26,935 in past due premiums. Through negotiation, they agreed to accept $9,170.00 as payment in full.