California Collection Counsel for Equipment Finance Lenders

We recover charged-off equipment loans, leases, and guaranties from California borrowers, from the first demand through judgment, levy, and bankruptcy court. On contingency.

Place an account | Call (619) 233-7078

Built for special assets and recovery teams

When an equipment finance agreement goes bad, you need counsel who reads the file the way your team does: the EFA or lease, the personal guaranty, the UCC-1, the payment history, and the collateral. Grant, Kessler & Zunshine has collected large commercial debts in California since 1984. We work for the people who own the loss: special assets, recovery, and legal collections teams at independent equipment finance companies, bank-owned lessors, vendor finance programs, and the servicers of securitized and syndicated portfolios.

Accounts we take

Small-ticket and mid-ticket equipment finance agreements (EFAs) and equipment loans
$1-out, FMV, and TRAC leases, including master leases with multiple schedules
Working capital loans made alongside equipment financing
Personal and corporate guaranties
Deficiency balances after repossession and remarketing
Deals originated through brokers, referral partners, and vendor programs, including app-only approvals
Skips, dissolved borrowers, and borrowers who moved the business to a new entity
Judgments from other states against California borrowers and guarantors

How we recover

1. Placement review

We review the contract, guaranties, UCC filings, payment history, and the assignment chain when a trust or servicer holds the account. Before the first demand, we run bankruptcy, entity, and asset searches and flag California issues: the statute of limitations, SB 1286 coverage, and licensing.

2. Demand and negotiated resolution

Many accounts resolve here. We negotiate payoffs, structured settlements, and stipulations for entry of judgment that let you take judgment as soon as a payment is missed.

3. Recover the equipment

When the borrower keeps operating your collateral, we obtain a writ of possession through California’s claim and delivery procedure (Code Civ. Proc. § 511.010 et seq.) and coordinate with your recovery agent and remarketing team.

4. Freeze assets before judgment

We apply for writs of attachment against bank accounts, receivables, and business equipment so the borrower cannot drain them while the case is pending (Code Civ. Proc. § 483.010 et seq.).

5. Sue the borrower and every guarantor

We bring the claims on the EFA or lease and on each guaranty in one action. Most defendants default, and we move defaults to judgment without delay.

6. Enforce the judgment

We levy bank accounts, run till taps and keeper levies on operating businesses, file judgment liens on business personal property with the Secretary of State, record abstracts of judgment, examine debtors under oath, obtain assignment orders on receivables, and seek receivers when the business itself is the asset.

7. Follow assets that move

Asset investigation is the core of our practice. When a borrower shifts equipment or revenue to a relative, a new LLC, or a sister company, we bring fraudulent transfer and alter ego claims to reach it.

8. Protect your claim in bankruptcy

We file proofs of claim, seek relief from stay to recover collateral, defend true-lease treatment, oppose plans that cram down your claim, and pursue nondischargeability actions against guarantors. We handle these cases ourselves; we do not refer them out.

Out-of-state lenders and home-state judgments

Many equipment finance contracts choose the lender’s home state for suit. A judgment from that court cannot reach a California borrower’s bank account until it becomes a California judgment. We register sister-state judgments under Code of Civil Procedure section 1710.10 et seq. and enforce them with every California remedy. When suing in California will recover faster or at lower cost, we file here.

California changed the rules for commercial collections

SB 1286. Since July 1, 2025, California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs the collection of commercial credit of $500,000 or less from natural persons, including personal guarantors and sole proprietors. The law covers lease financing, reaches original lenders collecting their own accounts, and applies to transactions entered into, renewed, sold, or assigned on or after that date. Our demand letters, calls, and pleadings comply with it.

AB 2116. Signed September 30, 2026, AB 2116 brings providers of commercial financing of $500,000 or less to California small businesses under the California Financing Law. A covered agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2028 is unenforceable unless the provider holds a license or has a complete application pending, and providers may not take a confession of judgment before default. We review enforceability at placement, before a borrower’s lawyer raises it.

Why lenders place accounts with GKZ

Collections is our practice. We have collected large commercial debts since 1984, with more than 65 years of combined attorney experience.
Results. We have helped our clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars. See our results.
Contingency fees. We are paid from what we recover.
One firm, start to finish. The same lawyers handle the demand, the lawsuit, the levy, and the bankruptcy case.
Statewide. We appear in Superior Courts throughout California and in California’s federal bankruptcy courts.
Reporting your team can use. We report status and remittances on the schedule your team sets.

Place an account

Equipment finance agreement or lease, with all schedules and amendments
Personal and corporate guaranties
Delivery and acceptance certificate and equipment list with serial numbers
UCC-1 financing statements
Payment history and payoff or deficiency calculation
Default, acceleration, and demand notices already sent
Repossession, appraisal, and sale records, if any
Assignment, servicing, or trust documents if an assignee holds the account

Frequently asked questions

Do you handle equipment finance collections on contingency?

Yes. We handle equipment finance and lease collection matters on contingency and confirm the fee terms in a written agreement before we act on an account.

Can we recover the equipment before judgment?

Often, yes. California’s claim and delivery procedure lets a lender obtain a writ of possession at the start of the case. The court requires a showing that you are entitled to possession and usually requires an undertaking.

Our contract requires suit in another state. Can you still help?

Yes. If you already hold a judgment from your home state, we register it in California and enforce it here. If you have not sued, we evaluate whether a California action will recover faster and at lower cost.

Does SB 1286 apply to our equipment finance accounts?

It can. The law applies when you collect from a natural person, such as a guarantor or sole proprietor, on commercial credit that totals $500,000 or less with your company, if the transaction was entered into, renewed, sold, or assigned on or after July 1, 2025. Lease financing is covered.

Can you pursue the personal guarantors?

Yes. We name guarantors in the same lawsuit as the borrower and enforce the judgment against their personal assets, subject to California’s exemptions.

What happens if the borrower files bankruptcy?

The automatic stay stops collection from the debtor, but your recovery does not have to stop. We file your proof of claim, move for relief from stay to recover collateral, object to plans that undervalue your claim, and pursue guarantors who are not in bankruptcy.

What if the borrower moved the equipment or the business to a new company?

We trace it. Through asset investigation, fraudulent transfer claims, and alter ego claims, we reach assets moved to relatives, new entities, or affiliated companies.

Have an account that needs California counsel? Call (619) 233-7078 or email info@gkzlaw.com.

Grant, Kessler & Zunshine, APC, 1331 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page provides general information, not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.