Despite Maryland’s almost complete elimination in recent years of the Indemnity Deed of Trust exemption, which developers and lenders had relied on for decades as a means of avoiding payment of Maryland recordation taxes, planning opportunities are still available for those seeking to reduce the amount of recordation and/or transfer taxes that might otherwise be…

As the uncertainty resulting from the Cherryland and Gratiot cases, holding that non-recourse carve outs in real estate mortgage loans are enforceable against borrower and guarantors, continues, it is important for borrowers and guarantors and lender to incorporate the intent of the parties with respect to non-recourse carve outs in the loan documents. A recourse…

Persons who acquire debt from banks and other lenders are always worried about what they don’t know about the loan or lending relationship. That is one of many reasons why loans are typically sold on a discounted basis. Generally speaking, all other things being equal, the more the purchaser knows about the loan and lending…

Financial institutions play a vital role in the purchase of consumer goods. Many products can only be purchased by consumers with financial assistance. In these situations, the consumer is usually required to execute multiple documents with the retailer. One or more documents will govern the sale of the product and may contain a clause mandating…

Imagine the scene. You are a loan officer for the lead bank in a series of nine figure syndicated loans. Each loan facility has a large portfolio of properties. The Collateral in the portfolio changes seemingly every day, and always under a tight deadline. Just yesterday the CFO called at five o’clock. “Hey Jim, what’s…

As every lender knows, leases are the economic life’s blood of a project and are often the single most important determinate as to a borrower’s ability to repay a loan. A lender will often call on its counsel to review the lease or leases (“lease” or “leases”) that affect the property securing the loan to…

When a debtor files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, all of the debtor’s property, subject to certain exemptions and exceptions, becomes property of the “bankruptcy estate”. A Chapter 7 Trustee is then appointed to collect the property of the estate, liquidate it, and distribute the proceeds among the debtor’s unsecured creditors. While a Trustee has…

The most popular statute these days for the pro-consumer plaintiffs’ bar in Maryland is the state’s Credit Grantor Closed End Credit law, which is commonly referred to as CLEC. It is the statute of choice for those seeking to make a living by suing lenders who finance, either directly or by assignment, consumer purchases, such…

For the first four decades in which the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was in effect, a financing statement filed in public record to perfect a security interest in a debtor’s assets had to be signed by the debtor and a termination statement extinguishing the security interest had to be signed by the secured lender. However,…