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PRINTING INDUSTRY CREDIT BUREAU 
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ISSUE # 7
MAY  2012
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Did you know that while all businesses begin with a concept, true success is enhanced by team work? When the collective output is more than what could be achieved individually, profits increase. The better the collaborative effort the greater potential for sustained growth.

 

In 1946 Capitol Records and Alan Livingston launched the first children's 'read along book' which was narrated by Bozo the clown. The popularity of this book was instantaneous; it became an 'over-night' success. In-order to maintain its' niche market and grow sales Capitol & Livingston hired  Larry Harmon amongst others to make public appearances which further increased demand for Bozo the Clown books.

 

Harmon, a virtually unknown actor, saw Bozo's greater potential and purchased the license rights in 1947 thus beginning the empire. For more than 50 years the live show, the toys, the books, and later the cartoon dominated the airways employing   more than 200 actors to portray the loveable clown all over the world. Bozo with his unique  trademarked red-orange winged hairdo and his giant flat feet became an icon seen daily by millions of children worldwide. Bozo's popularity created such a demand for tickets to attend its' live shows there was a 4-5 year waiting list. Parents registered infant children just to get an opportunity to have their toddler on the show.  Every kid in the USA wanted to play the Grand Prize Game, meet Cuddly Dudley, play with Oliver O'Oliver, or be the Grand Marshall leading the big top band at the finale of every show.  

 

Bozo began as Livingston's concept,  but teamwork led by Harmon's vision defined Bozo's iconic and financial success; therefore could our sales, credit, and production people achieve similar benchmarks by employing the Bozo strategy of success by team building?

 

PRINTING INDUSTRY CREDIT BUREAU'S TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN BOZO TYPE SUCCESS

  • Promote and encourage cross training between Sales, Credit, & Production. When your departments work individually they never appreciate how each can compliment one-another.
  • Give incentives for good work. Employees who feel appreciated are simply more productive.  
  • Improve efficiency by eliminating redundancies; Time is money and money is lost when tasks are repeated needlessly.
  • Bring your teams together for regularly scheduled meetings to brainstorm new ideas that can boost company profits
  • Encourage any and all questions, ideas, and thoughts. While you are the boss and ultimately the final decision is yours, when your employees know their input is valued they will be more willing to share. Remember, Bozo began with a simple idea that became a world-wide phenomenon
  • Inspire value by creating a workplace where employees want to work.

 LET PICB HELP YOU WIN THE GRAND PRIZE GAME

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DEWEY CHI'TING
LARSON  NY
  
 May Cartoon
ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY MARC.ART, INC.
 
ASK AN ATTORNEY

 

Q:  Can a confession of judgment be incorporated into our credit agreements? What are the pro's and con's? 

 

A This is an interesting issue, and the comments are going to vary from state to state.  Some states have done away with virtually all pre judgment agreements for entry of judgment pursuant to the Fuentes v Shevin case from 1972.

 

Although the Fuentes case dealt with replevin of assets, it touched on the whole concept of taking court action without giving the defendant an opportunity to be heard.  That is pretty much what a confession of judgment does: it allows entry of judgment against someone in the future, without a court hearing, as it is on application of the plaintiff (creditor).

 

In Michigan, the note which is the basis of the debt has to be separate from the confession, so that two entirely separate documents are needed to be signed by the debtor.....based on this factor alone, the answer to the question is "NO"...one can't have the confession of judgment built into the credit application.  I believe the rationale for having the confession of judgment being on a separate document, is to make sure the debtor is aware and understands, and signs up for, the potential of a judgment being entered without a court hearing, on a balance owed, at some point in the future.

  

Note also, that a confession of judgment is designed to be used for non payment of a note (promissory note referred to as a cognovit note), and so I'm not sure the credit application, which has no set AMOUNT which is due when signed, would qualify and would be legal.  This is an interesting issue because the statute just refers to the note as an "instrument" and so, possibly, a credit application may qualify if the right language was used ( and the credit application was clearly titled as an application AND a cognovit note), and, again, if the confession, itself, was done on a separate instrument.  Both would need to be signed by the debtor.  If debtor were to be a corporation, I would also have a board authorization for whomever signs the documents on behalf of the debtor.

 

In Michigan, they aren't used much, even though confessions of judgment is still legal.  Of course, this is not legal advise.  It is only general discussion on an academic issue, and anyone reading this should consult an attorney.

 

Steven A. Harms

Muller, Muller, Richmond, Harms, & Myers

Birmingham MI

 

A: Confession of Judgments are not recognized in New Jersey. We submit that incorporating same in a Credit Application would not be a good idea, nor wise as there are numerous opportunities for abuse that could expose the credit grantor to counterclaims for fraud. 

 

  

Joseph A. Marino, Esq.

Marino, Mayers & Jarrach LLC

Clifton NJ 

 

A: Not in Texas. 

 

Andrew Totz

Totz, Ellison & Totz, P.C.

Houston TX

 

APursuant to N.C.G.S. 25A-18, a buyer may not authorize any person to confess judgment on a claim arising out of a consumer credit sale and any confession of judgment in a consumer credit transaction is void as a matter of law. So in North Carolina, in a consumer credit context, there are tremendous cons (doing so would likely subject the creditor to a suit under North Carolina unfair trade practices law). We would never recommend it be done. 


Since N.C.G.S. 25A-18 only addresses consumer credit sales, however, the implication is that doing a confession of judgment as part of a commercial credit sale is not impermissible and the confession of judgment would not be void. In a brief review of the law, I did not find any cases addressing this point. However, we would still not recommend this be done. There are sure to be disputes about what has been paid, when it was paid, and why some amount was not paid. In a post-judgment motion for relief brought by the debtor, we think that the courts, at least in a debtor friendly state such as North Carolina, would not look kindly upon a requirement of a credit agreement that, without any pre-Judgment opportunity for review by the courts, imposes liability on a debtor without the debtor having any chance to defend itself. In North Carolina, one of the reasons our firm is so successful throughout a largely rural state where all district and superior court judges are elected (by the people against whom we are trying to get judgments), is our relationships with the courts. We believe that this tactic would severely negatively impact those relationships. Far better would be to always obtain a personal guaranty with a friendly choice of venue provision in the credit agreement and guaranty. While the personal guaranty route would not necessarily speed up the process of obtaining a judgment, it would solve the problems associated with the debtor business going under and the creditor losing its ability to recover from that bus9ness failing; in addition, it would enable the creditor to have the true asset holding person (the owner of the company) on the hook.  

 

Brian C. Bernhardt

Bernhardt & Strawser, P.A.

Charlotte NC 

  

A: Can it be incorporated? Sure. But is it enforceable? In California, the answer is "no." A confession of judgment is subject to strict statutory requirements, one of which is that the debtor's attorney must sign off on the confession, in order to be valid. Moreover, the debtor would have to confess to a sum specific in advance of the credit actually being extended, which would violate the requirement that a contract be supported by consideration.


John D. Guerrini
The Guerrini Law Firm 
Pasadena, CA
 
A: In New York such a provision is deemed void as a matter of public policy .

 

Elliot M. Portman
R.T.T. & Portman LLP
Bohemia, NY

 

A: Unfortunately, the law is very clear in Wisconsin. Confessions of judgment have been banned since the early 1980's. Including them in a credit application would potentially endanger the entire credit application. If one is incorporated in a credit application, at the very least, a severability clause should also be included in the credit application so that if the confession of judgment is determined to be unenforceable, as it would be in Wisconsin, the rest of the credit application would still be enforceable.

 

In addition, if we are dealing with a Wisconsin creditor and they have a provision in their contract indicating that Wisconsin law is the controlling law for any disputes, then any confession of judgment that may be contained in the credit application would be unenforceable, even if the customer debtor is located in another state.

 

In Wisconsin, the only time we can obtain an agreement from a debtor to allow entry of judgment if they do not pay under the terms negotiated between the parties, is after a lawsuit has been commenced, when a stipulation can be entered and approved by the court, allowing the creditor/plaintiff to enter judgment if the debtor defaults on an agreed upon payment arrangement. 

 

William A. Rinehart

Rinehart, Scaffidi & Mathews

Milwaukee WI


CREDIT GEEK SPEAKS

 

WORDS MATTER! 

When your intended words can be twisted and misconstrued, you misspoke.

  • The pencil is the original 'social media', use it liberally to insure your meaning isn't subjectively changed. 
  • Negotiated agreements that are written ensure its' intent cannot be altered.
  • When terms and conditions are put in writing and acknowledged by both parties it becomes contractual and contracts are superior to verbal agreements.  
  • When you rely upon handshakes to seal deals you risk loss attributed to situational amnesia.
In This Issue
CREDIT TIPS
DEWEY CHI'TING
ASK AN ATTORNEY
CREDIT GEEK SPEAKS
KREDIT KARMA
Quick Links  


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CHIEF RESEARCH 
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ROBBIE BURCH

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