Jacksonville Debt Collection Attorneys

Quick summary: Jacksonville is a port, military, and finance city, and its debtors’ assets are spread across many business districts. Since 2023, appeals from here go to a different appeals court, which older guides still get wrong.

Jacksonville and Duval County share one consolidated government, and the economy is broad: finance, logistics, healthcare, defense, aerospace, and manufacturing. JAXPORT is a major container port. Cecil Commerce Center on the Westside hosts aerospace and industrial companies, and three military installations support a large base of defense contractors.

Because the city is so spread out, so are its debtors’ assets. Office space downtown and on the Southside, warehouses on the Northside and Westside, and receivables at logistics firms, freight brokers, and construction suppliers can all belong to one debtor. Jacksonville cases are heard in Duval County, in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit.

For creditors and referring attorneys

Creditors with Jacksonville files are often freight and logistics vendors, equipment lessors, construction suppliers, and lenders to defense subcontractors. We start by mapping where the debtor actually does business, because in Jacksonville that can be three or four districts.

Referring attorneys can send us Duval County enforcement work, including out-of-state judgments that must first be domesticated in Florida.

Collecting a debt or judgment in Jacksonville

A Jacksonville logistics company’s value is in trucks and in what its customers owe it. A defense contractor’s is in contract payments and equipment. A developer’s is in real estate on the Southside or downtown. The tools we reach for most here:

• Freight and brokerage receivables: garnishment of what shippers and customers owe the debtor
• Trucks, trailers, and yard equipment: levy through the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, after checking title liens
• Warehouse and office property: a judgment lien recorded in Duval County
• Operating accounts: a writ of garnishment served on the debtor’s bank

More on each tool is on our judgment enforcement page.

The venue: Duval County Courthouse

Duval civil cases are heard at the Duval County Courthouse on West Adams Street downtown, and the Clerk also has a Beaches office in Neptune Beach. The Fourth Circuit has separate case management orders for circuit civil and county civil cases, and it tells lawyers to review them before filing. Since January 1, 2023, appeals from this circuit go to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, not the First.

• Courthouse: Duval County Courthouse, 501 West Adams Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202
• Clerk: Duval County Clerk of Courts
• Circuit: Fourth Judicial Circuit guide (official site)
• Appeals: Fifth District Court of Appeal

Frequently asked questions

Where do Jacksonville appeals go now?

To the Fifth District Court of Appeal. That changed on January 1, 2023, when the Fourth Circuit moved out of the First District. Older articles and forms still say First.

The debtor is a trucking company. Can we take its trucks?

Possibly. Trucks are usually financed, and the lender’s lien on the title comes first. We check the titles and liens before recommending a levy, so you only go after equity that’s actually there.

Bottom line: If a Jacksonville business owes you money, contact us or call (813) 229-0900. We’ll map where its assets are and tell you what the file is worth.

Nearby: Gainesville, Daytona Beach.

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