UCC Expert’s Corner: Court Holds “Legal Name” of Individual Debtor Not Required on UCC-1

By Paul Hodnefield, Associate General Counsel for CSC

Since Revised Article 9 took effect in 2001, the courts have generally required that a sufficient financing statement must provide the “legal name” of an individual debtor. What constitutes an individual’s “legal name,” however, is not altogether clear. The courts have frequently looked to an individual’s birth certificate as the source of the individual debtor’s “legal name” for purposes of the financing statement. Recently, a court analyzed the “legal name” issue and offered more insight into what Article 9 requires for a sufficient individual debtor name.  The case is In re: Miller, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116275 (C.D. Ill. Aug. 17, 2012).

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