(1) Is the “search of the records of the filing office under the debtor’s correct name, using the filling office’s standard search logic,” as provided for by Florida Statute § 679.5061(3), limited to or otherwise satisfied by the initial page of twenty names displayed to the user of the Registry’s search function? In light of that, and the importance of the issue to debtors and creditors, the court certified to the Florida Supreme Court the following questions: On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Lagoa, noted that different bankruptcy courts have reached different conclusions about the scope of the term “search” as used in the relevant Florida statute. The bankruptcy court held that the misnomer on Live Oak’s financing statements was not “seriously misleading,” and that the statements were therefore effective, based on its finding that the search results from the Registry “appear to include more than the initial page displayed.” The district court affirmed. To find the debtor’s correct name, the searcher would have to click the “PREVIOUS” link to go to the immediately preceding 20 names on the Registry’s list.
Live Oak had filed UCC-1 financing statements with the Florida Secured Transaction Registry, but the statements misidentified the debtor as “1944 Beach Blvd., LLC” instead of “1944 Beach Boulevard, LLC.” As a result, a search of the Registry using the name on the financing statement would bring up a page of 20 entries, but the debtor’s correct name was not among them. The case began in bankruptcy court, where 1944 Beach Boulevard, LLC, as debtor-in-possession, filed a complaint to avoid a purported blanket lien on its assets by Live Oak Banking Company. (In re NRP Lease Holdings, LLC), 2021 U.S. But how much of a search is required? The Eleventh Circuit certified that question to Florida’s Supreme Court in 1944 Beach Boulevard, LLC v. Posted on in Commercial Law and Business Torts | Comments Off on A Debtor by Any Other Name? Court Certifies Question to Florida Supreme Courtįlorida law provides that a UCC-1 financing statement is “seriously misleading” if it does not include the debtor’s correct name, unless “a search of the records of the filing office under the debtor’s correct name, using the filing office’s standard search logic, if any, would disclose” the financing statement notwithstanding the misnomer.
0 kommentar(er)
