Sarasota Debt Collection Attorneys

Quick summary: Sarasota debtors often spread their business across more than one company, so the company that owes you may not be the one that owns the property. We sort that out before anyone spends money on a lawsuit.

Sarasota’s economy is led by healthcare, tourism, and real estate and construction. Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a major employer. Manufacturers such as PGT Innovations, which builds storm-resistant windows and doors, and Sun Hydraulics, which makes hydraulic valves, give the area a steady industrial base. Insurance, financial services, technology, and retail fill in the rest, and new home building stays busy in Lakewood Ranch and North Port.

Business owners here often operate through several companies at once: one to own the building, one to run the business, one to hold the equipment. When a debt goes unpaid, that structure decides how hard it is to collect. Sarasota cases are heard in Sarasota County, in Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit.

For creditors and referring attorneys

Creditors in Sarasota include banks that make commercial mortgages, credit lines, and equipment loans, private lenders to real estate investors, and suppliers to builders and medical practices. We read the loan or contract, find which company actually signed, and tell you whether that company has anything to collect from.

Referring attorneys can hand us Sarasota County enforcement, including out-of-state judgments that need to be domesticated first.

Collecting a debt or judgment in Sarasota

In Sarasota the key question is usually who owns what. Commercial real estate, such as office, retail, industrial, and medical office space, is common, and so are equipment, vehicles, and inventory. But those assets may sit in a related company rather than the one that owes you. The tools we use most here:

• Property owned by the debtor itself: a judgment lien recorded in Sarasota County
• Property moved to or held by a related company: proceedings supplementary
• The debtor’s ownership in an LLC: a charging order
• Personal guaranties from the owners: suing the guarantors alongside the company

See our judgment enforcement page for how each works.

The venue: Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center

Sarasota civil trials and evidentiary hearings are set at the Silvertooth Judicial Center on Ringling Boulevard. The Clerk’s main office for small claims and records is at the Historic Courthouse on Main Street. In county civil cases, the case must be assigned to a complex, general, or streamlined track within 120 days of filing. Appeals go to the Second District Court of Appeal.

• Courthouse: Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center, 2002 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34237
• Clerk: Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court
• Circuit: Twelfth Judicial Circuit guide (official site)
• Appeals: Second District Court of Appeal

Frequently asked questions

The company that owes us has no assets, but the owner has another company that does. Can we reach it?

Sometimes. If assets were moved to avoid the debt, or the companies are run as one, Florida law gives creditors ways to reach them. Whether that fits your file depends on the facts, and we’ll tell you honestly after we look.

Did the owner sign a personal guaranty?

Check the credit application and the loan documents. Many Sarasota lenders and suppliers get one. If the owner signed, the owner can be sued along with the company.

Bottom line: If a Sarasota business owes you money, contact us or call (813) 229-0900. We’ll find out which company has the assets before you spend on a lawsuit.

Nearby: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers.

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