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).