UCC incidental damages clause in security agreement - what counts?

Right, and don't forget about advertising costs for the sale and any reasonable attorney fees if your security agreement specifically provides for them.

What about the lost rent though? That sounds more like consequential damages which are usually not recoverable unless specifically agreed to.

Totally agree on documentation. We learned this the hard way when we couldn't recover costs we didn't properly document.

How detailed do the records need to be? Like do you need separate line items for everything?

Yes, itemize everything. General 'repo costs' won't fly in court. Break down transport, storage per day, prep work, etc.

Agreed. Incidental damages are about the costs of dealing with the collateral itself, not business losses from not having it.

But what if the delay in repo was caused by debtor interference? Wouldn't additional storage costs during that period still be incidental?

Interesting, how does that work exactly? Do you just upload your security agreement?

Yeah, you upload your security agreement and it analyzes the language against UCC standards. Shows you what damage types are actually covered and flags potential issues.

Good point. Environmental prep costs are often overlooked but totally legitimate under UCC 9-615.

What about costs to get the equipment running again if it was damaged during default? Like repair costs before sale?

That gets tricky. Minor repairs to make it marketable yes, but major overhauls might not be reasonable.

What's considered 'reasonable' for attorney fees in UCC cases?

Depends on complexity and local rates. Simple repo might be a few hours of attorney time. Contested matters obviously more.

Can you explain that more? How would storage costs factor into deficiency?

If storage costs reduce the sale price, they might already be reflected in your deficiency amount. Don't claim them twice.

Makes sense. You have to protect the collateral while it's in your possession.

What if the collateral was already insured under debtor's policy? Can you still recover your insurance costs?

If debtor's insurance lapsed or didn't cover repo situations, then yes. You needed protection during the process.

What's the biggest mistake you see people make with incidental damage claims?

Including general business expenses that aren't specifically tied to handling the collateral. Like claiming office overhead or management time for routine tasks.

That sounds really useful for avoiding frivolous claims that just waste time in court.

How quickly does it analyze the documents? Is it instant or does it take time?

Pretty much instant once you upload the PDFs. Gets the analysis back in minutes.

That's a really good point. You can't spend unlimited money just because you're entitled to incidental damages.

So do you have to prove the expenses were cost-effective compared to the collateral value?

Not necessarily cost-effective, but reasonable under the circumstances. Context matters a lot.

Smart approach. Better to be conservative and recover what you can than to overreach and get nothing.

Good luck with the recovery. Hope you documented everything properly from the start.

Yeah we kept pretty good records thankfully. This discussion has been really helpful for understanding what we can actually claim.