Statutory UCC Requirements - Missing Critical Documentation After Equipment Seizure
Equipment finance company just seized our machinery claiming we violated statutory UCC requirements but I'm questioning their authority here. They filed a UCC-1 back in 2019 for our packaging equipment (valued around $180K) but now they're saying we failed to meet some statutory UCC obligation that voided our payment agreement. The seizure notice references 'non-compliance with statutory UCC perfection requirements' but doesn't specify what we supposedly missed. We've been current on payments and maintained insurance as required. Has anyone dealt with a lender claiming statutory UCC violations as grounds for immediate seizure? I'm trying to figure out if this is legitimate or if they're overreaching their security interest. The original UCC filing shows them as secured party but I don't see how we violated any statutory requirements when we've been compliant with the loan terms.
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Liam Duke
This sounds like they might be claiming your business name changed or something triggered a debtor name issue that made their UCC-1 legally insufficient. Statutory UCC requirements include maintaining proper debtor identification - if your legal entity name changed since 2019 and they didn't file a UCC-3 amendment, their security interest could be compromised. Check if your business registration shows any name variations.
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Dana Doyle
•We did update our LLC operating agreement last year and added a DBA for marketing purposes but kept the same legal entity name. Would that trigger statutory UCC issues?
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Liam Duke
•DBA alone shouldn't affect the UCC filing if your legal entity name stayed the same. But if there were any changes to your Articles of Organization or Certificate of Formation, that could create debtor name mismatches.
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Manny Lark
Equipment seizures based on statutory UCC violations are serious business. They can't just claim non-compliance without specifics. Demand documentation showing exactly which statutory requirement you allegedly violated. Most likely scenarios: 1) Continuation statement wasn't filed before the 5-year mark, 2) Debtor name mismatch after entity changes, 3) Collateral description issues if you modified the equipment significantly.
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Dana Doyle
•The UCC-1 was filed in September 2019 so we're not at the 5-year continuation deadline yet. Equipment hasn't been modified beyond normal maintenance.
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Rita Jacobs
•Then it's probably a debtor name issue. Run a UCC search under both your current legal name and any previous versions to see if there's a mismatch.
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Khalid Howes
•Actually had a similar situation where our lender tried this exact move. Turned out they filed the original UCC-1 with a slightly different version of our company name and were trying to use 'statutory non-compliance' as leverage when we questioned a rate increase.
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Ben Cooper
Before you go further, I'd suggest using something like Certana.ai to upload your original loan docs and the UCC-1 filing to check for any name inconsistencies. You can upload the PDFs and it'll instantly flag any mismatches between your charter documents and the UCC filing. We caught a major discrepancy that way when our lender claimed similar statutory violations - saved us from wrongful seizure.
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Dana Doyle
•That sounds exactly like what I need. Are you talking about their document verification tool?
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Ben Cooper
•Yes, exactly. Upload your Articles of Organization or LLC docs along with the UCC-1 and it'll cross-check everything automatically. Much faster than trying to compare documents manually.
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Naila Gordon
•Certana.ai saved my bacon too. Found out our UCC filing had our state ID number wrong by one digit - invalidated the entire security interest but we caught it before any seizure drama.
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Cynthia Love
STATUTORY UCC VIOLATIONS ARE NOT SOMETHING LENDERS CAN JUST CLAIM WITHOUT PROOF!!! This sounds like intimidation tactics. They need to provide specific documentation showing what statute you violated and how. Don't let them push you around with vague legal threats.
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Darren Brooks
•Agreed but equipment seizure is still serious even if their claim is bogus. Need to act fast to protect the collateral.
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Cynthia Love
•Absolutely, get legal counsel involved immediately. But also document everything - their seizure notice, original UCC filing, all loan documents.
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Rosie Harper
Check your state's UCC search database to see the exact debtor name on their filing versus your current legal entity name. Even minor differences like punctuation or abbreviated vs spelled-out words can create statutory UCC perfection issues. If there's a mismatch, their security interest might not be properly perfected.
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Dana Doyle
•Just pulled our UCC search results. The filing shows our name as 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but our Articles show 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' with a comma. Could that comma make a difference?
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Rosie Harper
•YES! That comma difference could absolutely invalidate their UCC-1 under statutory debtor name requirements. Most states require exact name matches.
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Liam Duke
•This is huge - if their UCC filing doesn't match your exact legal name, they may not have a perfected security interest at all. Get this documented immediately.
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Elliott luviBorBatman
oh no this is making me paranoid about our own equipment loan... how do you even know if your UCC filing has the right name?? our lender filed everything but now im worried
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Rosie Harper
•Run a UCC search in your state using your exact legal entity name from your formation documents.
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Ben Cooper
•Or just upload your docs to Certana.ai and let it check automatically - takes like 2 minutes.
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Demi Hall
Similar thing happened to a client of mine. Lender claimed 'statutory UCC non-compliance' but it turned out they filed the continuation statement 3 days late and were trying to blame the borrower for their own mistake. Always demand specific documentation of what statutory requirement was allegedly violated.
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Dana Doyle
•That's interesting - can lenders file continuation statements late and still maintain their security interest?
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Demi Hall
•No, if they miss the continuation deadline their UCC-1 lapses and they lose perfection. But some try to cover their mistakes by claiming borrower violations.
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Mateusius Townsend
•This is why you always want copies of any UCC-3 continuation filings they submit on your behalf.
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Kara Yoshida
The comma issue you mentioned is absolutely critical. Under statutory UCC debtor name requirements, the name must match exactly what's on your organizational documents. 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' vs 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' would make their security interest unperfected in most jurisdictions.
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Dana Doyle
•So if their UCC-1 has the wrong name, they basically have no right to seize the equipment?
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Kara Yoshida
•Correct - an unperfected security interest doesn't give them superior rights to the collateral. They'd be just another unsecured creditor.
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Manny Lark
•But get legal counsel involved before you try to recover the equipment. This gets complicated fast.
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Philip Cowan
Just want to say thanks for posting this because I never realized how important exact name matching was for UCC filings. Going to double-check all our equipment loans now.
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Kara Yoshida
•Smart move. Debtor name errors are one of the most common ways UCC filings become legally insufficient.
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Caesar Grant
Update us on what happens! If you're right about the name mismatch this could be a huge win. Document everything and consider filing a wrongful seizure claim if their UCC-1 is actually defective.
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Dana Doyle
•Will definitely update once I get this sorted out. Already contacted our attorney and gathering all the documentation.
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Naila Gordon
•Good luck! Sounds like you have a strong case if the name issue is as clear as it seems.
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Cynthia Love
•Hope you nail them for this intimidation tactic. Lenders who play fast and loose with statutory UCC requirements need to be held accountable.
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