Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog

Long before Florida became a state in 1845, Florida’s territorial government sought to protect Floridians. As early as 1828, Florida enacted a requirement that non-residents file a ‘bond with approved security in the sum of one hundred dollars, conditioned for the payment of all Cost and charges which may be adjudged against him in said suit. (“Cost Bond”). Florida’s Cost Bond requirement remains basically the same as the original 1828 version with only one major change and several minor revisions primarily related to section numbering.

Cost Bond legislation is not unique to Florida. More than half of the United States has similar legislation.  Some states make the Cost Bond an affirmative duty of the non-resident plaintiff while other states require that a defendant demand that the plaintiff file a non resident cost bond and/or file a motion to compel a nonresident plaintiff to file a Cost Bond.

The reasons for enacting the Cost Bond statute are seemingly lost to history. However, it is easy to conclude that the reasons include Florida’s concern that its residents may be harmed if costs assessed against a non-resident plaintiff remain unpaid and the non-resident plaintiff avoids Florida courts’ jurisdiction; this is supported by case law.  Another reason that the statute may have been adopted was to help limit frivolous suits by non-resident plaintiffs against Florida residents. Limiting frivolous lawsuits may well have been a significant reason because, particularly in the early years of the statute, $100 was a large sum of money and thus the Cost Bond was a high threshold for non-resident plaintiffs to gain access to Florida courts.

Have you recently filed for bankruptcy? Skilled Tampa Bay bankruptcy attorneys can help you navigate the process.

There are six different types of bankruptcy cases:

• Chapter 7: Liquidation or “Straight” Bankruptcy

One of the most taxing aspects of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy is gathering and preparing all of the documents for the court. Tampa bankruptcy lawyers can assist with this process. Additionally, Tampa bankruptcy lawyers can explain that certain documents are necessary to file with the court and others are necessary for the completion of the bankruptcy petition.

Documents Required for Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Tampa bankruptcy lawyers can explain that the petition is the most important part of the bankruptcy filing process. Along with this important document, a petitioner must provide a statement and certificate showing that he or she complied with the requirement for credit counseling and completed this counseling. If the person was in the military, he or she must provide a statement regarding his or her service. Additionally, a Notice to Individual Debtor with Primarily Consumer Debts and a statement of the person’s Social Security number must be filed.

A presumption of abuse means that you are taking advantage of the bankruptcy system, which could mean that your case is dismissed. This determination is made by reviewing your disposable monthly income to see if it is higher than the maximum allowed of $195.42 per month. If your monthly disposable income, or net CMI, is less than $117.08 monthly, no presumption of abuse is triggered. Talk to our Bankruptcy Attorneys in Tampa about how we might be able to help.

Charges of Possible Presumption of Abuse

When the CMI is between $117.08 and $195.42, the bankruptcy court will consider how much unsecured debt you have. If you can pay 25 percent of those debts over the next five years, presumption of abuse exists. If the trustee thinks that a presumption of abuse might exist, they will report it to the clerk of the court.

When deciding whether to file for bankruptcy with the help of contract dispute lawyers in Tampa, you should understand how your existing debts will be handled. Some debts are dischargeable in bankruptcy and some are not. Of the debts that are not, some are non-dischargeable by law and some may be determined non-dischargeable by the court. Speak with your contract dispute attorneys in Tampa to understand how your debts fall into these categories.

Debts can be either secured or unsecured. Unsecured debts are those that are not subject to a lien or encumbrance. Secured debts are those that have a lien or other collateral attached to the property. Because the creditor is legally entitled to the value of the lien, the creditor may be allowed to recover the property if its value is equal to less than the amount of the lien. If the property is worth more, then the excess value may be paid to the creditor according to the agreement between debtor and creditor.

If you are filing as an individual Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 debtor, the value of your secured personal property will be assessed to determine its replacement value (its value without costs of sale or marketing). For household or personal property such as furniture, this is determined by its retail price taking into account the property’s age and condition.

As an investor, it’s critical that you understand your portfolio and be ready to respond to situations that may put your hard earned assets at risk. So-called high yield junk bonds are one area that should raise red flags. Our skilled Securities Fraud Attorneys in Tampa can carefully review your investments and counsel you on steps you can take to protect yourself.

Use of High Yield Junk Bonds

Junk bonds are generally those types of investments that pay a higher yield to investors in the short term but come with a major risk of default. Pension administrators and private investment institutions are generally prohibited from investing client assets into anything but investment grade bonds. Unfortunately, abuse happens as in the case of some of the major banking institutions which folded in the last few years making worldwide headlines. The sub prime mortgage crisis was largely caused in over-investment in high yield real estate investments where underwriting guidelines weren’t met.