Recovered
$3M
Across forty breach-of-contract cases, including enforcing a Texas judgment in Louisiana.
2015–16
Home · Practice areas · Business debt collection
When a customer will not pay.
A customer that took the goods or the work and stopped paying, a contractor that owes a supplier, a tenant that walked away from a commercial lease. We collect business debts for the business that is owed: demand, suit, judgment and, when needed, collection of the judgment.
What we handle
- Unpaid invoices for goods and services
- Suits on a sworn account
- Personal guaranties of a company’s debt
- Commercial lease balances
- Attorney’s fees and interest
- Enforcing the judgment — abstracts, writs, garnishment, turnover
How we approach it
A Texas suit on an account can be brought on a sworn account under Rule 185. When the petition is properly verified, the account is prima facie evidence, and the defendant cannot dispute it without a sworn denial, which often makes the case one for summary judgment. See the verified denial.
A creditor that prevails on a contract claim can generally recover its reasonable attorney’s fees, after presenting the claim to the debtor. A guaranty can put the owner personally on the hook for a company’s account, and it is read before suit is filed.
A judgment is only worth what can be collected on it. Once one is signed, the tools are on collecting a judgment. We have recovered $3 million across forty breach-of-contract cases, including enforcing a Texas judgment in Louisiana.
Related results
Summary judgment
$149,630
Summary judgment on a commercial claim. 111th District Court, Webb County.
2014
Judgment
$36,617
Default judgment for our client, plus interest and fees. 271st District Court, Jack County.
2016
Judgment
$17,845
Default judgment for our client on an oilfield services account, plus $1,500 in fees. 90th District Court, Young County.
2017
Judgment
$12,227
Judgment on a commercial account. 335th District Court, Lee County.
2015
Agreed judgment
$10,982
Agreed judgment on a commercial account. McLennan County Court at Law No. 1.
2013
Agreed judgment
$6,146
Agreed judgment on an oilfield services account, plus fees. Shackelford County Justice Court.
2017
Collected
$135K
Post-judgment recovery from a judgment debtor.
2017
Judgment
$8,695
Judgment for a manufacturer on its account, plus fees. Wood County Court at Law.
2015
Summary judgment
$4,365
Summary judgment on a commercial account, plus fees. Ector County Justice Court.
2014
Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not predict a similar outcome. Confidential matters are described without their terms.
Questions people ask
Can I recover attorney’s fees for collecting a business debt?
Generally yes, on a claim for breach of a written or oral contract or for goods or services, if the claim was presented to the debtor and it did not pay within thirty days.
What is a suit on a sworn account?
A suit on an account supported by an affidavit that the claim is just and true and that all lawful offsets have been allowed. The defendant must file a verified denial to contest it.
The company that owes us has no money. Can we go after the owner?
If the owner signed a personal guaranty, usually yes. Without one, an owner is generally not liable for the company’s contract debts unless a narrow exception applies, such as actual fraud for the owner’s direct personal benefit.
What should I send?
The contract or terms, the invoices, the account statement, any guaranty, and the correspondence about payment.