Tag: Davis mcgrath

‘Your Check Bounced Like a Superball®!’ – Bad Check Laws in Illinois – Civil Liability

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(photo credit: www.sportsunlimitedinc.com)

The civil provisions of the Illinois Deceptive Practices Act, 720 ILCS 5/17-1 (a criminal statute), govern situations where a defendant issues bad checks with intent to defraud.  Section 5/17-1(B) provides:

(B) Bad checks.

A person commits a deceptive practice when:

(1) With intent to obtain control over property or to pay for property, labor or services of another,….he or she issues or delivers a check or other order upon a real or fictitious depository for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be paid by the depository. The [court] may infer that the defendant knows that the check or other order will not be paid by the depository and that the defendant has acted with intent to defraud when the defendant fails to have sufficient funds or credit with the depository when the check or other order is issued or delivered, or when such check or other order is presented for payment and dishonored on each of 2 occasions at least 7 days apart. In this paragraph (B)(1), “property” includes rental property (real or personal).

(2) He or she issues or delivers a check or other order upon a real or fictitious depository in an amount exceeding $150 in payment of an amount owed on any credit transaction for property, labor or services, or in payment of the entire amount owed on any credit transaction for property, labor or services, knowing that it will not be paid by the depository, and thereafter fails to provide funds or credit with the depository in the face amount of the check or order within 7 days of receiving actual notice from the depository or payee of the dishonor of the check or order.

The caselaw distills a civil bad check claim to the following elements: a plaintiff (the party to whom an NSF check was given) must show: (1) that defendant delivered a check to obtain services, labor and property of another, (2) that defendants knew the checks would not be honored, (3) that defendants acted with intent to defraud and (4) the defendants failed to pay on demand.

The corporate officer who signs a bad checks can also be individually liable under the Act.  This is an offshoot of the active participation rule: a corporate officer is liable for torts in which he actively participates.

Once a bad check claimant shows these elements, the Deceptive Practices Act’s civil liability provisions kick in.  Section 17-1(E) provides:

Civil liability. A person who issues a check or order to a payee in violation of paragraph (B)(1) and who fails to pay the amount of the check or order to the payee within 30 days following either delivery and acceptance by the addressee of a written demand both by certified mail and by first class mail to the person’s last known address or attempted delivery of a written demand sent both by certified mail and by first class mail to the person’s last known address and the demand by certified mail is returned to the sender with a notation that delivery was refused or unclaimed shall be liable to the payee….for, in addition to the amount owing upon such check or order, damages of treble the amount so owing, but in no case less than $100 nor more than $1,500, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.

An action under this subsection (E) may be brought in small claims court or in any other appropriate court. As part of the written demand required by this subsection (E), the plaintiff shall provide written notice to the defendant of the fact that prior to the hearing of any action under this subsection (E), the defendant may tender to the plaintiff and the plaintiff shall accept, as satisfaction of the claim, an amount of money equal to the sum of the amount of the check and the incurred court costs, including the cost of service of process, and attorney’s fees

So, if you are civilly prosecuting an NSF check case for a client, you should (a) be on the lookout for the check being returned twice in a 7-day period; and (b) send the 30-day demand by certified and regular mail.  Once the 30-day period elapses, you can file suit in Law Division ($30K and higher), Muni ($10,000-$30,000) or Muni small claims (under $10,000) and recover the face amount of the check plus up to $1,500 for each returned check and attorneys’ fees and costs.

For the less litigious, there’s Section 3-806 of the Uniform Commercial Code (810 ILCS 5/3-806). This statute governs “non litigated” bad check collections.  Under this section, the aggrieved party can recover the amount of the check, and the greater of $25 or reasonable costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees incurred in collecting on the bad check.  However, to recover more than $25, the check recipient must  provide 30-days notice by certified mail to the party that delivered the bad check and give that party an opportunity to cure by making good on the check.

 

 

 

 

Collecting Your Cook County (IL) Judgment: A Primer

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735 ILCS 5/2-1402 and Supreme Court Rule 277 govern post-judgment or supplementary proceedings in Illinois. 735 ILCS 5/12-101 through 12-183 provide additional post-judgment specifics like the mechanics of levying on a debtor’s property, the seven-year period to enforce a judgment (12-108), the lien on debtor’s real estate and personal property, enforcement in other counties, etc.

The Citation to Discover Assets

The first step is to issue a Citation to Discover Assets and Citation Notice.  The Citation and Notice of Citation are pre-printed fillable forms found on the Cook County website.

On the form, I list the name of the creditor (my client), the debtor (the person we got a judgment against), the date and amount of judgment and address of debtor.  I attach a copy of the underlying judgment and include a Rider to the Citation asking for documents relating to the debtor’s assets.

In the Rider, I usually ask for State and Federal tax returns for the past 2-3 years, a years’ worth of bank statements, six most recent paystubs, title papers to cars and real estate, and a signed statement of personal and real assets.  I may also request documents pertaining to any stocks, bonds, securities, furnishings or electronic equipment.  The larger the judgment, the more painstaking I am in my Citation Rider requests.

Section 2-1402(b-1) now requires a creditor to include an Income and Asset Form with the Citation. The debtor is supposed to fill out and bring it to the Citation hearing.  A sample Income and Asset Form is included in the statutory text.

To “issue” the Citation, I take it to the 6th floor (Muni cases) or 8th floor (Law Division) pay $80 (usually) and get it certified by the Clerk.  I am then given the “return date” which is the day it is set for hearing.

The Citation hearing will be in Room 1401 of the Daley Center (if judgment is less than $30K) or Room 2503 if the judgment is over $30K (or for judgments entered in Law Division cases).  Chancery money judgment citations are scheduled before the Chancery judge.

Serving the Citation

Once the Citation is issued, I either place it with the Sheriff or a Special Process Server (SPS).  A citation can be served in the first instance by a process server (unlike a complaint and summons – which must first be placed with the county sheriff).  I’ve found that an SPS is usually more persistent and able to track down evasive debtors with better success than the county sheriff. For this reason, I almost always serve a Citation through an SPS.

But with a corporate debtor that usually has a registered agent, I will usually serve through the sheriff (since there is less chance of dodging service).

The Citation Examination

The examination often takes place in the glamorous Daley Center hallway!  Sometimes, the judge will allow you to do the exam in a jury room.  I’ve also agreed to conduct examinations at my office or opposing counsel’s office.  However, to avoid the stonewalling debtor situation, I usually prefer to do the examination at the courthouse so I can ask the judge to intervene if necessary.

On the Citation return date, if the debtor shows up, he is sworn in by the Clerk and I conduct the examination.  I ask myself: “If this person owed me money, and I really wanted it, what would I ask this person?”  Simple as that.

I first ask if the debtor brought the requested Rider documents – such as their  tax returns, bank records, motor vehicle title, pay stubs, etc.  More often than not, the debtor brings  nothing and I have to continue the hearing for another date.  Even if the debtor shows up empty-handed, I still conduct the examination but in the continuance order, I specify which documents the debtor must produce within 7 or 14 days.  I then continue the citation hearing for 3-4 weeks.  I also reserve the right to re-examine the debtor if the documents he produces raises additional questions.

If the debtor or his/her counsel is uncooperative, threatening  or verbally abusive during the citation exam (I’ve experienced all three), I stop the exam and simply say “I’m going to have the case called”.  Usually, that results in some cooperation.  If not, and the debtor persists in not cooperating (giving “I don’t know” answers to every question) I let the judge scold the debtor for being obstructionist. In my experience, collection judges have little tolerance for a debtor that is not taking the citation proceeding seriously.

At the examination, three key questions I focus on before I look through the debtors’ documents are: (1) is he/she employed?; (2) Does he/she have bank accounts?; and (3) does the debtor own real estate?

(1) Employment: If the debtor answers yes to Item 1 (debtor has job) – I issue a wage deduction against the debtor’s employer.  You can have 15% of debtors’ gross, pre-tax wages under Illinois law under the Wage Deduction statute: 735 ILCS 5/12-801 et seq.

(2) Bank Account: If debtor has a bank account, I find out where and immediately issue and send a third-party citation to the bank’s Keeper of Records and serve it by certified mail.

Once the debtor’s bank receives the third-party citation, the bank must freeze the debtor’s account until further order of court.  I usually wait 2-3 days to send the debtor notice of the third-party citation.  Otherwise, if the debtor catches wind of the third-party citation, he/she can race to the bank, empty his/her accounts and you will get nothing (and NOT like it).

(2)(a) The Third-Party Citation

I have found a third-party citation to be a very  powerful enforcement tool.  People don’t like it when they can’t withdraw money from their account (individual) or make payroll (corporate debtor).

But, more often than not, the debtor’s bank account has little or no money in it.

Illinois law also has a $4,000 catch-all exemption: a debtor can declare up to $4,000 in his account as exempt (this is good information for someone representing a judgment debtor).

Example: debtor’s bank answers the third-party citation that the debtor has $4,050 in his/her checking account.  The debtor could declare $4,000 exempt and you (the creditor) would only get a paltry $50.  The burden is clearly on the debtor to claim this exemption.

The third-party citation will have a separate “return date”.  I try to schedule both the underlying “first party” citation (the one against the debtor) and third-party citation (against the debtor’s bank, e.g.) on the same day.

If the bank (or other third party respondent) files an answer stating that the debtor does have funds on deposit, I request a Turnover Order.  This is a court order which requires the bank/third-party to remit funds to the creditor’s counsel.

Once the turnover order issues, I send it to the bank/third-party with a letter saying “enclosed please find a copy of today’s order requiring you to turn over the sum of $____ within 7 days.  Please remit to the undersigned and make your check payable to_____”.  If the bank fails to pay (a rarity), I move to vacate the dismissal of the third-party citation and request that a conditional judgment enter against the bank. This almost always gets the bank’s attention since it doesn’t want to deal with a money judgment against it.

(3) Real Estate

If the debtor owns real estate, I record a Memorandum of Judgment against the property.

The Memorandum of Judgment must be signed by the judge that entered the underlying judgment (not the 1401 judge).  So, if a Muni judge entered it (on the 11th floor), you must have that judge sign the Memorandum.  If you forget at the time of judgment, simply file a motion requesting the judge to sign the Memorandum.

I attach a legal description to the Memorandum of Judgment along with the real estate PIN number.  Then, I record the Memorandum in the Recorder of Deeds.  For a Chicago-land debtor, I record in the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.  This puts a cloud on the debtor’s title.  The lien will interfere with the debtor’s attempts to refinance or sell his property.

If there is equity in the real estate, I can file suit to foreclose the lien and force a sale of debtor’s property.  But, before I do this, I run a title search – or at least check Cook County Assessor’s and Recorder of Deeds site to determine any prior recorded liens on the property.

A prior mortgage or other lien will trump my judgment lien and can make foreclosing the lien ( forcing a sale of the property) cost-prohibitive.

If the debtor answers that he has non-exempt personal property (e.g. car, jewelry, furniture, etc)., I explore whether the client wants to levy on the property.  Usually, it involves placing documents with the Sheriff and posting a bond.  This is where 735 ILCS 5/12-101-183 comes into play.  Levying on personalty can be time-consuming and expensive.

Other exemptions a debtor can assert in citation/supplementary proceedings are found at Section 2-1402(b)(1) and include unemployment benefits, Social Security benefits, worker’s comp benefits, $2,400 in car, $15,000 in home, $4,000 catch-all exemption among others.

Conclusion

There are many more details and nuances to collecting on a judgment.  But the above steps are a good starting point for a collection attorney trying to enforce a judgment for his client.  I can tell you this: when you are able to recover monies in citation proceedings through dogged efforts, clients are very appreciative which is very gratifying.