Baker Donelson's Automotive Finance Team members have specific and extensive experience working with and for the auto finance industry. Our team-based approach allows us to provide prompt, high quality, cost-effective legal services and industry insight for regulatory, transactional and litigation matters.
Our clients include all sizes of financial services companies and national and state chartered banks providing commercial and consumer financing (both prime and sub-prime) in connection with every facet of the automotive industry, including automobile retailers, automotive auction houses, and vendors providing goods and services to the industry.
Our lawyers focus on the following key automobile finance industry market segments:
Corporate Services, Transactions, Regulation and Compliance
- Advising clients on titling, licensing, registration and other regulatory and statutory requirements unique to the auto finance industry
- Addressing dealings between the finance companies and the automobile dealers they service
- Negotiating loan sales and servicing agreements
- Handling regulatory concerns with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the new regulations relative to the automotive finance industry
Commercial Finance Transactions
- Commercial transactions for lenders and finance lessors of automobiles, including tax driven structures like TRAC and Split-TRAC leases, as well as pure equipment financing
- Dealer floorplan transactions
- Structured warehousing facilities
- See also Asset Based Finance and Equipment Leasing and Finance
Litigation, Restructuring and Bankruptcy
- Filing and prosecuting replevins in state and federal courts to recover the vehicle and deficiency balance on consumer accounts
- Dealer floor plan loan enforcement, including filing and prosecuting replevins in state courts against automobile dealerships to recover floor-planned inventory and commercial bankruptcy proceedings in which the debtor is an automobile dealership
- Filing and prosecuting state and federal court breach of contract actions, in which the vehicle has been recovered or abandoned by the creditor
- Defending actions or counterclaims for breach of the peace, intentional infliction of emotional distress in state courts, and wrongful repossession
- Defending Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims, claims of fraud and state consumer protection action claims
- Defending Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claims asserted from the origination and/or financing standpoint
- Defending Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) claims arising from reporting of the auto line
- Actions to compel cases to arbitration based on contractual agreements
- AAA arbitration on the basis of a deficiency balance that resulted post-repossession
- Consumer bankruptcy proceedings, including ones in which collection attempts were made on loans that have been discharged in bankruptcy, resulting in state court claims
- Post-judgment collections and enforcement actions, often involving multiple secured creditors and/or lien priority disputes
- Administrative proceedings and state court actions relative to the forfeiture or seizure of vehicles
- Assisting with and facilitating the exercise of self-help in accordance with applicable state and federal laws
- Negotiations with towing firms and garage keepers for the retrieval of vehicles abandoned by customers or law enforcement agencies