Orlando Debt Collection Attorneys

Quick summary: Orlando debts come from tourism, simulation and defense contracting, healthcare, and warehousing, and each holds its money differently. The Ninth Circuit’s procedures in Orange County are strict about deadlines, so a file needs to move from the day it’s filed.

Orlando runs on more than theme parks. Hotels, attractions, and convention venues, and the vendors that serve them, are the largest industry. Simulation, training, and modeling firms cluster at the Central Florida Research Park near UCF, many of them on military contracts. Healthcare and life sciences keep growing around Lake Nona. Retailers line Colonial Drive and International Drive, and distribution companies work out of the industrial areas along Orange Blossom Trail, including Orlando Central Park.

When one of those businesses stops paying, the case goes to Orange County, in Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit.

For creditors and referring attorneys

Creditors with Orlando files are often hospitality suppliers, equipment lessors, commercial landlords, and subcontractors to government contractors. The industry the debtor is in usually tells us where its money sits, and that’s where we start.

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

Collecting a debt or judgment in Orlando

An Orlando hotel vendor, a simulation contractor, and a distribution company can owe the same amount and still need completely different collection plans. The asset decides the tool:

• Hospitality receivables that rise and fall with the season: garnishment timed to peak months
• Money owed under government or prime contracts: garnishment of the contract payments, where the law allows it
• Trucks, equipment, and freight receivables at distribution firms: levy and receivable garnishment
• Store inventory and leases along Colonial and International Drive: levy through the Orange County Sheriff

Each tool is covered on our judgment enforcement page.

The venue: Orange County Courthouse

Orange County civil cases are heard at the courthouse on North Orange Avenue downtown. The Ninth Circuit runs a Business Court for complex business litigation, which is Division 43 in Orange County. In county civil cases, the plaintiff must file and serve the court’s standing case management order with the summons. Defendants who aren’t served are dismissed after the service deadline, which is 120 days and can be extended to 150. Appeals go to the Sixth District Court of Appeal.

• Courthouse: Orange County Courthouse, 425 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801
• Clerk: Orange County Clerk of Courts
• Circuit: Ninth Judicial Circuit guide (official site)
• Appeals: Sixth District Court of Appeal

Frequently asked questions

What happens if the Orlando debtor dodges service?

The clock keeps running. In county civil cases, an unserved defendant is dismissed after the service deadline. That’s why we line up skip tracing and a process server before filing, not after.

The debtor contracts with the government. Can we reach that money?

Sometimes. Some contract payments can be garnished and some can’t, depending on who is paying and under what contract. We’ll check that before you count on it.

Bottom line: If an Orlando business owes you money, contact us or call (813) 229-0900. We’ll work out where the debtor’s money actually sits before you file.

Nearby: Kissimmee, Daytona Beach, Melbourne.

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