Also known as: debtors
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person or entity that owes an obligation to another, especially an obligation to pay money. In bankruptcy the term identifies the person or firm whose affairs are the subject of the proceeding. In secured transactions the term reaches any person with a property interest in collateral other than a security interest or lien and any seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes.
Damian Decker holds an estate in fee simple conditional in a parcel of land. A judgment creditor obtains a lien against Decker. The lien reaches only those interests in the land that Decker has the power to transfer at the time the lien attaches or later acquires the power to transfer.
Doris Duffy is a general partner in a limited partnership. After the partnership becomes a debtor in bankruptcy, a judgment creditor of Duffy seeks to levy on her personal assets for a partnership debt. The creditor must first obtain an unsatisfied judgment against the partnership itself.
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Derek Douglas is a partner in a general partnership. A judgment creditor of Douglas attempts to execute against his personal assets to satisfy a partnership obligation. Execution is barred unless the partnership itself is a debtor in bankruptcy or another statutory precondition is met.
Destiny Davis owns real property subject to a recorded judgment lien. The lien attached upon docketing and gives the creditor the right to levy on the property to satisfy the judgment, affecting marketability until the lien is released or satisfied.
Dustin Donovan holds an estate in fee tail preserved for a single lifetime only. A creditor obtains a lien that reaches only those interests Donovan has the power to transfer at the time the lien attaches or later acquires the power to transfer.
Deborah Dunn is a partner whose transferable interest is subject to a judgment. On application by the judgment creditor the court enters a charging order that constitutes a lien on Dunn's transferable interest and directs the partnership to pay distributions to the creditor instead of to Dunn.
In bankruptcy the term identifies the person or firm whose affairs are the subject of the proceeding. In secured transactions the term reaches any person with a property interest in collateral other than a security interest or lien and any seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes.
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A creditor can subject to payment those interests the debtor has the power to transfer at the time the lien attaches or later acquires the power to transfer during the lien's continuance.
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The creditor must show that the partnership itself is a debtor in bankruptcy, that a judgment against the partnership remains unsatisfied, or that another statutory precondition such as partner consent or court permission is met.
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…cases, such statutes are most commonly used by creditors to seize goods allegedly wrongfully detained—not wrongfully taken—by debtors. At common law, if a creditor wished to invoke state power to recover goods wrongfully detained, he had to proceed through the action of debt or detinue. These actions, however, did not…