Tampa Debt Collection Attorneys

Quick summary: Tampa is our home court. When a Tampa business owes you money, the case goes to the Hillsborough County courthouse a few blocks from our office, and we can usually tell you in the first conversation whether the file is worth chasing.

Tampa doesn’t lean on one industry, and neither do the debts that come out of it. Banks and insurers downtown and in Westshore, defense contractors working off MacDill Air Force Base, medical groups, software firms, and the warehouses strung along I-4, I-75, and I-275 all sign contracts, run open accounts, and take credit lines. When one of those accounts goes bad, the file lands in Hillsborough County, in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.

This is where we practice every day. Our office on North Marion Street is a short walk from the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, and most of our Tampa work happens in that building.

For creditors and referring attorneys

Creditors usually come to us with a contract, an invoice, a guaranty, or a note that points to Hillsborough County, and a default that isn’t getting fixed. Lenders, equipment finance companies, suppliers, and commercial landlords send us Tampa files because we can look at one and tell them what’s collectible, what it will cost, and how long it should take. If it isn’t worth chasing, you hear that too.

Referring attorneys often hold a judgment from another state against a Tampa debtor. That judgment has to be domesticated in Florida before it can reach anything here. We handle the domestication and the enforcement, and we’re glad to work as local counsel on the file.

Collecting a debt or judgment in Tampa

Tampa debtors usually own something worth reaching. The question is what, and which tool gets to it. Service firms carry receivables. Distributors and manufacturers hold trucks, equipment, and inventory. Developers and landlords hold commercial real estate, often in a different company from the one that signed. We match the remedy to the asset:

• Operating bank accounts: a writ of garnishment served on the debtor’s bank
• Money the debtor’s own customers owe it: garnishment of those receivables
• Office, warehouse, or other real estate in Hillsborough County: a recorded judgment lien, then execution if needed
• Trucks, equipment, and inventory: a levy carried out by the Hillsborough County Sheriff
• The debtor’s interest in an LLC: a charging order
• Assets moved to a related company: proceedings supplementary

More on each tool is on our judgment enforcement page.

The venue: George E. Edgecomb Courthouse

Most Hillsborough civil cases are heard at the Edgecomb Courthouse on East Twiggs Street downtown. The county also has a Business Court, General Civil Division L. Certain business disputes must be filed there, including non-consumer UCC transactions, purchases and sales of businesses, and franchise disputes. Appeals from Hillsborough County go to the Second District Court of Appeal.

• Courthouse: George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 E. Twiggs Street, Tampa, FL 33602
• Clerk: Hillsborough County Clerk of Court
• Circuit: Thirteenth Judicial Circuit guide (official site)
• Appeals: Second District Court of Appeal

Frequently asked questions

Does my case belong in the Hillsborough Business Court?

Only certain types of business disputes go to Division L, and the civil cover sheet has to say so. Whether yours qualifies depends on what the dispute is about. We’ll tell you which division applies once we see the contract.

We already have a judgment from another Florida county. Can it reach assets in Tampa?

Yes. A Florida judgment can be recorded as a lien in Hillsborough County, and the tools above work the same way here. You don’t have to sue again.

Bottom line: If a Tampa business owes you money, contact us or call (813) 229-0900. It’s our home court, and we’ll tell you what the file is worth before you spend on it.

Nearby: St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota.

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