For many years, commercial lenders have struggled with ways to protect their collateral following a borrower’s default. If a lender wanted to appoint a receiver to ensure the collateral maintained its value, Florida law provided inconsistent guidance and was a patchwork of different legal opinions detailing when appointment was appropriate and what powers the receiver would possess. Fortunately, a new Florida law will finally provide welcome clarity, certainty and expediency in the appointment of receivers in commercial property litigation and related foreclosures.

Heralded by debtor’s attorneys as “a wonderful loophole”¹ in the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor who has primarily business, rather than consumer, debts can qualify for a speedy Chapter 7 discharge despite a high earning capacity that would permit the debtor to repay some, or even all, of her debt. Though rarely used, banks faced with a high-income debtor’s Chapter 7 case can move to convert the case to Chapter 11 under 11 U.S.C. §706(b) to force the debtor to repay some of her debt prior to receiving a discharge.