Secured Transactions Flashcards
What is a secured transaction? What are its two components?
A transaction intended to create a security interest in personal property or fixtures.
Generally involves:
1) a credit transaction (sale on credit or a loan)
2) an agreement that creates a lien in favor of the creditor in the debtor’s personal property to secure the debt
Important terminology in a secured transactions?
Debtor: The person who owes payment
Secured party: A lender, seller or person in whose favor there is a security interest
Security agreement: Agreement between debtor and secured party that creates the security interest
Security interest: The interest in personal property or fixtures which secures payment or performance
Collateral: The property subject to a security interest (i.e., inventory, equipment, consumer goods)
Attachment: Process that gives the secured party a security interest effective against the debtor
Perfection: Process that gives the secured party a security interest effective against the world
Financing statement: Document generally used to provide public notice of the security interest, and PERFECT the security interest
Purchase money security interest: Two types?
Secured party sells debtor collateral on credit and retains a security interest (a car, washing machine, etc.)
OR
An enabling loan, a loan to a debtor that enables the debtor to buy collateral
After-acquired property clause?
Secured party obtains a security interest not only in the debtor’s present property, but also in property that the debtor will obtain in the future (typically in a security agreement)
Future advance clause?
Allows a secured party to secure future loan advances in the present security agreement (typically in a security agreement)
What are the two types of collateral, and how are they further classified?
Goods: All things which are moveable at the time the security interest attaches (and includes unborn young animals and growing crops) (also, fixtures). Have to look at primary use to decide what kind of good it is.
- Consumer goods: primarily for personal or family use
- Equipment: Used or bought for use in business
- Farm products: Crops/livestock used in farming operations or products of crops/livestock in their unmanufactured states
- Inventory: Held by a person who holds them for sale or lease or to be furnished under service contracts; materials used or consumed in a business
Semi-intangible and intangible property:
- Instruments: Negotiable instruments and any other writing which evidences a right to the payment of a monetary obligation (no investment property)
- Documents: A document which in the regular course of business shows that the possessor is entitled to use or dispose of the document and the goods it covers
- Chattel paper: A record which evidences both a monetary obligation and a security interest in specific goods. A record is info stored in a tangible or intangible medium (electronic or paper)
- Investment property: Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and brokerage accounts containing such items
- Accounts: A right to payment for goods, services, real property, insurance policy, energy provided, for use of a vessel, use of a credit card, or lottery winnings (ex: accounts receivable) (contractual obligation arising out of a loan does not count–this obligation is a general intangible)
- Deposit accounts: bank account or similar account
- ->Exception: Art. 9 does NOT apply to an assignment of a deposit account in a consumer transaction
- Commercial tort claims: A claim arising in tort where the claim is not for personal injury or death of an individual (organization’s claim or claim arose in business)
- General intangibles: Any personal property not coming within the scope of other definitions (software, patent, trademark rights, goodwill). General intangible under which debtor’s obligation is a monetary obligation is a payment intangible.
What is the scope of Article 9? To what does it apply?
Article 9 applies to:
1) Any transaction, regardless of form that creates a security interest in personal property or fixtures by contract
2) An agricultural lien
3) A sale of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes (unless the sale is only for collection purposes, or a sale is part of a sale of a business)
4) Most consignments: Where manufacturer (or cosigner) has turned over goods to a retailer (consignee) who acts as a selling agent at the retail. Consignor retains title to the goods. Article 9 applies where:
- Goods are worth more than $1000
- Consignor did not use the goods as consumer goods
- Consignee deals in goods of the kind in a name other than consignor’s
- Consignee is not an auctioneer
- Consignee is not generally known by her creditors to be substantially engaged in selling goods of others
5) A secured sale disguising as a lease–Article 9 applies if:
- At the end of lease, the lessee becomes the owner of the good for little or no consideration; OR
- The lessee is bound to purchase the goods at the end of the lease or to renew the lease for the remaining economic life; OR
- The lease is for the entire economic life of the leased goods
How does an Article 9 Security Interest Attach? What are the prerequisites?
1) Authenticated Security Agreement: Unless collateral is in possession or control of the security party, need a Written or Electronically Stored security agreement.
2) Form of the Agreement:
- Agreement needs to be evidenced by a record that shows an intent to create a security interest
- Agreement is authenticated by the debtor–must be signed or marked electronically with present intent to identify the authenticating person and adopt the agreement
- Also, need a description of the collateral–can be of the type of goods (But for tort claims, consumer goods, and consumer securities, needs to be described specifically)
3) Given Value by secured party: Secured party extends credit to the debtor and takes a security interest in the goods. A pre-existing debt is considered to be a value given (ex: lender making an unsecured loan and later taking a security interest out)
4) Debtor must have rights in the collateral: Needs an ownership interest in or the right to obtain possession of the collateral–debtor also has rights in collateral where the property belongs to another person who’s authorized its use as collateral
What is the scope of the security interest?
Debt secured may include future advances
Property secured may include after acquired property
- (Exception: a security doesn’t attach under an after-acquired property clause to consumer goods UNLESS the debtor acquires rights in them within 10 days after the secured party gives value)
- (Exception: An after-acquired property clause is ineffective as to commercial tort claims)
Property Secured Generally includes proceeds
-Proceeds: Whatever is received upon sale, exchange, collection or other disposition of collateral (or later proceeds). UNLESS otherwise agreed, a security agreement gives the secured party a right to proceeds
-The attachment of a security interest in collateral is ALSO an attachment of a security interest in a supporting obligation for that collateral (ex: a security interest in accounts receivable is also an interest in a surety to an account)
What are the four methods of perfection, and what is perfection necessary for?
Perfection deals primarily with rights between the secured party and third parties, but it also helps determine priority between different secured parties
4 Methods of Perfection:
- Automatic
- Possession
- Control
- Filing
Automatic perfection (which interests or types of collateral are automatically perfected)?
Automatic perfection applies to:
-Purchase money security interest in consumer goods (ex: security interest in a dining room set bought with a loan)
- Assignment of accounts or payment intangibles that does not in conjunction with other assignments transfer a significant part of outstanding accounts or payment intangibles of assignor is AUTOMATICALLY PERFECTED
- ->”Casual and isolated test”: No need to file as to assignments which no one would think of filing (regular assignments of debtor’s accounts should be filed)
- ->Percentage test: Consider only what percentage of the total accounts of the assignor was assigned, and whether it was significant part of whole
- Sale of payment intangible or a promissory note (where banks and other parties are selling off parts of loans, and don’t want to take action to perfect)
- A security interest created by the assignment of a health-care insurance receivable to the provider of the health care goods or services
- Certain security interests in investment property (ex: where debtor purchases assets through a securities intermediary and has not paid–intermediary has automatically perfected interest to secure purchase price)
- Supporting obligations: Perfection of a security interest in collateral also automatically perfects a security interest in a supporting obligation for the collateral
- Temporary automatic perfection: Security interest in certificated securities, documents or interests is automatically perfected without filing or possession for a period of 20 days from when it attaches
Possession of collateral?
Possession: May perfect security in MOST types of collateral by taking possession of collateral. Security interest is perfected from the moment of possession without relation to time of attachment. Perfection continues as long as possession is retained.
-(Exception: Secured party may make an instrument or good available to the debtor temporarily–remains perfected for 20 days, unless possession is again taken or a financing statement is filed)
Perfection by Control?
Control: Security interests in investment property, non-consumer accounts and electronic chattel paper may be perfected by control (Control is only way to perfect bank accounts)
- Investment property: Control exists whenever secured property has taken steps to have the property sold without further action
- ->Certificated securities (Look up-14)
- ->Uncertificated securities (Look up-14)
- ->Securities accounts (Look up-14)
- Non-consumer deposit accounts (by bank or other person)
- Electronic chattel paper (Look up-14)
(Note: Only way to perfect a security interest required to be titled under state law is by noting the lien on the certification of title UNLESS the debtor is holding the motor vehicle as inventory for sale or lease)
Filing a Financing Statement?
Filing Financing Statement: May perfect by filing as to all kinds of collateral EXCEPT deposit accounts and money (unless they are proceeds)
-Notice filing: Enough info to put people on notice that they need to find out more
- Contents:
- -> Debtor’s name: Usually content of driver’s license, or the “individual name” (not defined); If a corporation, use name stated in document filed or issued by state registration
- -> Name change? If seriously misleading, financing statement is effective before or within 4 months after the change. Need to amend later
- ——-> Error in secured party’s name is not seriously misleading
- -> Real property related financing statements must describe the realty, and must indicate that it is to be filed in the real property records
- -> No signature required, but filing must be authorized
- -> Authenticated security agreement itself may be filed, BUT it must contain all of the elements above
- Where to file:
- ->With the clerk of the superior court of any county of the state (filing officer). May be made in any county, or where the financing statement is filed as a fixture filing and the collateral is goods that are fixtures, filing must be made in the real estate records in the county of the subject
- ->Usually file in state where the debtor is located–if it has more than one place of business, file in the place of the chief executive office
- ——->If party moves, secured party remains perfected for four months after move, for collateral pre- and post-move. But needs to refiled within 4 months or it becomes unperfected
–>When farm products are located in a state, an agricultural lien on those products is perfected in that state
–>A financing statement is effective for five years from filing, but can be extended
Perfection as to Proceeds?
If a secured party has a perfected security interest in collateral, a secured party automatically has a perfected interest in whatever the proceeds the debtor receives for that collateral for 20 DAYS.
To remain perfected in those proceeds beyond 20 days, the secured party must take new action to perfect its interest, UNLESS:
- the proceeds are identifiable cash proceeds
- the security in the original collateral was perfected by a financing statement, the interest in the proceeds would be filed in the same place, and the proceeds were not purchased with cash proceeds of the collateral