UCC 9320 Purchase Money Priority - Equipment Dealer Lost Perfection Window

This is exactly why we always file our PMSI the same day we deliver equipment. That 20-day clock starts ticking immediately and there's no pause button for weekends or processing delays.

Wait, I thought there was some flexibility if the filing delay wasn't the dealer's fault? Like if the finance company had system issues or something?

Nope, UCC 9320 doesn't care whose fault the delay was. The law is designed to give certainty to existing lenders about priority positions. If PMSI filers got extensions for processing issues, it would create chaos for blanket lien holders.

Good point - I'll dig into our dealer agreement tonight. We specifically negotiated timing provisions because we've had issues with their filing department before.

Even if you have indemnification, collecting on it can be a nightmare. Prevention is always better than trying to chase damages after the fact.

Interesting - I haven't heard of Certana.ai before. How does their document verification work for timing issues like this?

You just upload your dealer agreement PDF and the UCC filing documents, and it automatically checks all the dates and obligations against UCC 9320 requirements. It caught the timeline violation immediately and helped us build our case against the finance company.

That sounds useful for proving when filing obligations were missed. Much better than trying to manually track all these dates and deadlines.

Seriously, most state SOS offices accept electronic filings 24/7 now. There's no reason to wait for business hours or mail processing anymore.

Exactly! And the filing fees are usually lower for electronic submissions too. Finance companies that still rely on paper filing or batch processing are living in the past.

Some of the older finance companies still use outdated systems that only process filings in batches. It's frustrating but that's the reality when dealing with certain lenders.

That's a good idea - I should pull their UCC-1 and review it carefully. If there are any technical defects it could change the priority analysis completely.

Right, and even small errors like using the wrong entity type in the debtor name can invalidate the entire filing for priority purposes.

Been there! Found a blanket lien that listed the debtor as 'ABC Corp' when the actual entity was 'ABC Corporation LLC' - completely different legal entity, voided their priority claim.

We're in Ohio. The equipment was delivered to their facility but took 2 days to install and commission. Not sure if that affects the possession date.

Ohio follows the standard UCC interpretation - possession occurs when the debtor gains control over the equipment, not when installation is complete. So your 20-day clock probably started on delivery day.

Some equipment financing companies argue that possession doesn't occur until final acceptance testing is complete, but that's rarely successful in court challenges.

Already have a call scheduled with our equipment finance attorney for tomorrow morning. Just wanted to get some preliminary feedback from others who've dealt with similar situations.

Smart move. UCC priority disputes can get complex quickly and you want expert guidance on strategy options.

Their UCC-1 says 'all equipment now owned or hereafter acquired' so it probably covers our press. But I'll have our attorney review the exact language.

Those broad descriptions can sometimes be challenged if they're too vague or if the original loan agreement has more specific limitations on covered collateral.

Worth checking their loan documents too - sometimes the UCC filing is broader than what the actual loan agreement covers.

This is where Certana.ai's document checker really helps - you can upload the UCC-1 filing and it verifies debtor names, collateral descriptions, and filing compliance all at once.

Good point about double-checking the filing accuracy. A defective late filing is worse than no filing at all.

Thanks - it's definitely been a stressful few days since we discovered the timing issue. Fingers crossed our attorney can find some options.

At least you caught it relatively quickly. Some dealers don't realize they've lost priority until they try to repossess equipment months later.

True, and with electronic filing becoming standard, there's really no excuse for finance companies to miss these deadlines anymore.