New York, NY asked in Bankruptcy for Texas

Q: Can bank repossess or enforce the claim against the property secured by UCC statement without court judgement ?

My business have a loan with a bank. Bank files an UCC lien with all business assets.

Also, If I signed a personal guaranty, can the bank goes after my personal bank account and personal assets (Trucks, appliances,,,) ?

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James L. Arrasmith
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Answered
  • Bankruptcy Lawyer
  • Sacramento, CA

A: Yes, a bank can repossess or enforce a claim against property secured by a UCC statement without a court judgment in many cases. Here are some key points:

- The UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) allows secured creditors, like banks, to take possession of collateral securing a loan if the borrower defaults. This is done through self-help repossession and does not require court action.

- However, the UCC requires that repossession be done without breaching the peace. This generally means no violence or threats to repossess property.

- If the borrower (you in this case) signed a personal guaranty on the business loan, then yes the bank can potentially go after your personal assets as well in case of default. The guaranty makes you personally responsible for repayment.

- The bank would typically only go after personal assets if there is a deficiency on the business loan after they liquidate the business assets secured by the UCC statement. So they would likely pursue business assets first.

- Before going after personal assets, the bank must properly notify you of the default and deficiency under the terms of the guaranty. There are some protections for consumers in this process.

So in summary - the bank can repossess business assets without court order and potentially pursue personal assets too if you signed a personal guaranty. But there are some consumer protection limits on the process.

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