Business Law V: Debtor/Creditor Relationships, Real Property Flashcards
Guarantor/Surety
- someone who agrees to stand liable for a debt of another.
- a way for a creditor to have another form of backup for payment of obligation owed.
- can be in addition to any collateral debtor may pledge to creditor.
Straight Surety/Guaranty relationship
Surety/Guarantor must pay creditor when debt is due. Creditor can turn to surety/guarantor for payment.
Guarantor of Collection relationship
Guarantor is responsible for debt only after principal debtor has defaulted.
Guarantor is secondarily liable.
Suretyship Creation
- Contract must be in writing and signed by surety
- Consideration not required
- Multiple surety relationship can exist (sub-surety, cosurety)
Rights of creditors/sureties on amount paid toward principal debt
In absence of agreement, contribution of each cosurety is determined on pro rata basis computed by ratio of proportionate maximum liability of each cosurety to total amount that all cosureties have pledged
Formula for creditor/surety responsibility
(Max Liability of Cosurety / Total Max. Liability of All Cosureties) x Amount Paid by Cosurety Seeking Contribution = Amount of Contribution Entitlement
Rights of Creditor when Principal Debtor Defaults
- Proceed against principal debtor personally and/or debtor’s property
- Proceed against surety personally according to surety contract
- Proceed against collateral of debtor
Rights of Surety/Guarantor
- Exoneration
- Reimbursement/indemnity
- Subrogation
- Right of Contribution
Exoneration
Equitable right permitting surety to petition court to order creditor to exhaust recovery against principal debtor before holding surety liable
Reimbursement/Indemnity
Surety has right to seek reimbursement from principal debtor:
- to cover all costs guarantor has incurred because of surety agreement
- if principal debtor has defense against paying creditor, surety’s right of reimbursement is correspondingly reduced
Subrogation
Upon payment, surety succeeds to any rights creditor has, including:
- Creditor’s rights against principal debtor
- Creditor’s rights to principal debtor’s collateral held by creditor/surety
- Creditor’s rights against 3rd parties
- Creditor’s rights against a cosurety
Right of contribution
Entitles cosurety to recover amount paid about his/her share owed from other cosurety
- Generally, cosureties are jointly/severally liable
- Release of cosurety - if released w/o other cosureties’ consent, remaining cosureties’ liability is released to extent that right of contribution cannot be obtained
- Reimbursement - if fully reimbursed, no right of contribution
- Collateral - cosureties entitled to share in proportion to their liability a debtor’s collateral
Events that DO NOT release Surety from Liability
- Insolvency of principal debtor
- Bankruptcy of principal debtor
- Fraud/misrepresentation by debtor
- Principal debtor’s incapacity
- Death of principal debtor
- Release of principal debtor by creditor
- Changes/modification
- Creditor failure to give surety notice of principal debtor’s default
- Creditor failure to first resort to collateral in order to satisfy debt
Events that DO release Surety from Liability
- Principal debt paid
- Surety’s incapacity
- Garantor’s discharge decree in bankruptcy
- Statute of limitations expires
- Fraud/misrepresentation by creditor
- Release of principal debtor by guarantor
- Refusal of principal debtor’s tender
- Material alteration by creditor
- Creditor’s failure to disclose
- Changes/modifications where surety uncompensated
- Surrender/impairment of debtor’s collateral
- Special release for guaranty of collections
- Statue of Frauds (must be in writing)
Freehold estate: Fee simple estate
Person has complete ownership for unlimited duration to do with property as he/she legally chooses