secured transactions Flashcards
Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 governs
security interests in personal property, fixtures, and agricultural liens.
Among the items of personal property governed by Article 9 are
deposit accounts, equipment, and crops.
Attachment is required for a security interest to be
enforceable against the debtor with respect to the collateral.
Three conditions must coexist for the security interest to attach to the collateral:
(i) the secured party must have given value (e.g., giving a loan);
(ii) the debtor must have rights in the collateral; and
(iii) the debtor must have authenticated a security agreement that describes the collateral, or the secured party must have possession or control of the collateral pursuant to a security agreement.
Perfection of a security interest is generally necessary for the secured party to have rights in the collateral that are
superior to the rights claimed by third parties in the same collateral.
Perfection has no relevance to the secured party’s rights against
the debtor.
A security interest is perfected upon
attachment of the interest and compliance with one of the methods of perfection.
There are four ways a secured party can perfect a security interest:
(i) filing a financing statement;
(ii) possessing the collateral;
iii) controlling the collateral; and
(iv) automatic perfection (either temporary or permanent).
A deposit account includes
a savings, passbook, time, or demand account maintained with a bank and excludes accounts evidenced by instruments, such as certificates of deposit.
A security interest in a deposit account can be perfected only by
control.
A secured party has control of a deposit account if:
1) the secured party is the bank with which the deposit account is maintained;
(2) the bank, secured party, and debtor agreed in writing to follow the instructions of the secured party; or
(3) the secured party becomes the bank’s customer with respect to the deposit account.
Goods encompasses anything that is
moveable at the time that a security interest attaches and includes fixtures.
Equipment usually refers to goods that are
used or bought for use primarily in a business, such as employees’ desks or machinery used in manufacturing.
where equipment is permanently integrated as part of a structure, it is also a
fixture
Fixtures are perfected by
filing a financing statement.
A financing statement must contain:
(1) the debtor’s name;
(2) the name of the secured party; and
(3) the collateral covered by the financing statement.
When the collateral is related to real property, the financing statement must also include:
(1) an indication that it covers this type of collateral;
(2) an indication that it is to be filed in the real-property records;
(3) a description of the real property to which the collateral relates; and
(4) the name of a record owner, if the debtor does not have an interest of record in the real property.
A security interest is generally an interest in
personal property or fixtures that secures payment of an obligation.
Although Article 9 is usually limited to personal property transactions, it does apply to a security interest in
a secured obligation, such as a promissory note secured by a real estate mortgage.
Unlike other statutory and common-law liens, an agricultural lien is subject to
Article 9.
Included within the definition of an agricultural lien is an interest in farm products (e.g., crops, livestock) that secures payment or performance of an obligation for either:
(i) goods or services furnished with respect to the debtor’s farming operation (e.g., livestock feed sold to a cattle rancher); or
(ii) rent on real property leased by a debtor in connection with a farming operation.
Article 9’s definition of goods also encompasses
growing or unharvested grown crops.
For collateral related to real property, the financing statement is generally filed in
the office for recording a mortgage on the related real property (“local filing”).
In Virginia, a financing statement generally must be filed only with
the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC).
Perfecting a lien in goods related to real property also requires filing with
the Virginia SCC.
Included within Article 9’s definition of goods as tangible collateral are
growing or unharvested grown crops.
For a security interest to attach to collateral, there must be
a security agreement authenticated by the debtor to satisfy the Article 9 Statute of Frauds.
A security interest in any collateral, except a deposit account, money, or letter-of-credit rights that are not a supporting obligation, may be perfected by
filing a financing statement.
when the debtor is located in Virginia, a financing statement generally need only be filed with
the Virginia SCC.
A purchase-money security interest (PMSI) is
a special type of security interest that may be accorded special rules with respect to perfection and priority.
A PMSI may exist only with respect to two types of collateral
goods (including fixtures) and software.
A PMSI in goods exists when:
(i) a secured party gave value (e.g., made a loan) to the debtor to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or use of the goods, and the value given was so used; or
(ii) a secured party sold goods to the debtor, and the debtor incurs an obligation to pay the security party all or part of the purchase price (i.e., a sale of goods on credit).
a note executed by the debtor meets the requirements of a security agreement when it:
(1) is a record;
(2) contains a description of the collateral; and
(3) is authenticated by the debtor.
equipment is
goods that are not consumer goods, farm products, or inventory but that are used or bought for use primarily in a business.
For a security interest to attach to the goods offered as collateral, the security agreement must
satisfy the Article 9 Statute of Frauds
for a security agreement to satisfy the statute of frauds
1) the debtor must authenticate the security agreement or
2) the secured party must possess or control the collateral.
a security interest in any collateral, except a deposit account, money, or letter-of-credit rights that are not a supporting obligation, may be perfected by
filing a financing statement.
A secured party’s possession of tangible (e.g., goods) or quasi-intangible (e.g., chattel paper) collateral satisfies the Article 9 Statute of Frauds for attachment and perfection of the secured party’s security interest if
the secured party’s possession is pursuant to the security agreement.
where a secured parties attachment and perfection is by possession of tangible or quasi tangible collateral, the security interest remains perfect only while
the secured party retains possession.
Unlike in bankruptcy, which provides a pro rata share to all creditors, Article 9
prioritizes the claims and pays them in order.
When there are two or more perfected secured parties with rights in the same collateral,
the first to file or perfect has priority.
A PMSI in goods other than inventory or livestock prevails over all other security interests in the collateral, even if they were previously perfected, if
the secured party perfects before or within 20 days after the debtor receives possession of the collateral.
Knowledge by the purchase money secured party of the conflicting prior security interest does not
prevent the priority of the PMSI over the earlier perfected security interest.
A general creditor is one who
has a claim, including a judgment, but who has no lien or security interest with respect to the property in question (i.e., the collateral).
A general creditor has no interest to assert under
Article 9
A general creditor
does not have a claim to particular property owned by the debtor.
A secured party will always prevail over
general creditor with respect to the debtor’s collateral.
classified as “equipment” because it is
used primarily for business, but not used up, sold, or leased like inventory.
Article 9 sets out rules governing
the priorities of conflicting interests in collateral.
The general rule as to a perfected security interest in collateral is that it is good against
all subsequent buyers
when a buyer in the ordinary course of business buys goods from a seller who is engaged in the business of selling goods of the kind purchased, in Virginia, the buyer
takes free of any security interest created by the seller, unless the buyer knows of the security interest, and the buyer knows that the sale is a violation of the terms of the security agreement.
In the case of consumer goods, a PMSI is perfected
automatically, and no filing is required
While a perfected security interest is good against all subsequent buyers, the exception to this is
the garage sale rule
garage sale rule
1) whereby a consumer purchaser buys consumer goods from another consumer, and
2) he does so without knowledge of a security interest in the goods, and
3) the purchase takes place before a financing statement related to the goods has been filed.
A financing statement covering equipment must be filed in the state where
the debtor is located
When there are two security interests, both of which are perfected, the general rule is that the security interest that was filed or perfected first
has priority
A financing statement may be effective to cover after-acquired property if
such property falls within the collateral described, whether after-acquired property is mentioned as such in the financing statement or even contemplated by the parties at the time that the financing statement was authorized.
priority with regard to one type of collateral is not dependent on priority with respect to
another type of collateral.
unlike the security agreement, the financing statement need not make reference to
future advances in order to cover such advances.
The financing statement is simply required to describe
the collateral, and a description of the type of collateral (inventory) is sufficient.
A financing statement is required to contain
1) the debtor’s name,
2) the name of the secured party or a representative of the secured party,
3) and the collateral covered by the financing statement.
while the debtor must authorize the filing of a financing statement
the debtor need not sign this statement.
although a financing statement must identify the collateral, the description of goods in the financing statement need not
specify a classification; The units could be specifically identified, such as by model and serial number.