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Riemer Preference Defense Service

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to fight a preference claim?

A trustee is usually assigned to handle the case when a company files for bankruptcy. There are many duties and tasks for which the trustee or committee is responsible, one of which is to determine who may or may not have received a preference payment within 90 days of the filing of the bankruptcy.

The method in which this evaluation is done, in many cases, is suspect. There is supposed to be a true evaluation and research as to the payment ledger of the debtor for the period in question. However, nowadays, many trustees take a shotgun approach and send every creditor a preference demand letter.

To further compound the problem for the creditor, trustees now take a shortcut and hire third-party preference collection agencies to send creditors preference demand letters—even if you have not received a preference payment.

The collection tactics are often impersonal and ruthless. Many agencies will assert a legal default judgement against the creditor if they do not receive a response within a certain time period. Furthermore, the agencies make it nearly impossible to contact via telephone. Many creditors have found that their phone calls are not returned unless an attorney is contacting them.

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What is Riemer PDS?

The Preference Defense Service (PDS) is a new service offered by Riemer Reporting Service in collaboration with the law firm of Creim, Macias & Koenig LLP. It is designed to help credit managers defend the trustee's preference claims when your customer files for bankruptcy. In most cases Riemer PDS can substantially reduce the amount of the trustee's claim and in some cases eliminate it completely.

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Why do I need this service?
  • Most in house counsel are not familiar with the intricacies of defending a preference claim. Riemer PDS is a specialized service devoted entirely to preference defense.
  • The data collection and analysis is complicated and time consuming. Riemer helps you sort through the data quickly and efficiently.
  • Save your company money by reducing or eliminating the amount of the preference claim.
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What is Riemer's role?

Riemer Reporting Service has a specialist who gathers the initial information and data from the creditor. The data is run through Riemer's PDS program to determine the actual, if any, amount of payments considered preference. Once the analysis is complete, the package is sent to the law firm of Creim, Macias & Koenig LLP for a free evaluation.

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What is CMK's role?

CMK receives the preference analysis from Riemer and reviews it to determine which defenses are appropriate for your case. After review, CMK will contact the credit manager to discuss the preference defense options and provide a legal opinion.

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What information does the credit manager supply?

The preference defense analyst will review with you the exact data elements necessary for the analysis. However, generally the information required includes the following:

  1. Invoices for the 90-day preference period
  2. Invoices for the year preceding the bankruptcy
  3. Payment history for the 90-day preference period
  4. Payment history for 12 months prior to the start of the preference period
  5. All goods or services shipped during the 90-day preference period
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What is included in the service and how much does it cost?

Riemer PDS, including the full deliverables listed below, is being introduced at a special flat rate of $495.00. (Based on up to 4 hours of preference analysis.) Larger cases may require additional hours of analysis. Additional hours of analysis are billed at $110.00 per hour.

Riemer PDS includes the following deliverables:

  1. Schedule of the initial preference interview and review, in detail, of the necessary information required to start the analysis
  2. Compilation of the data in preparation for analysis
  3. Preparation of the exhibit data for "Ordinary Course" defense
  4. Review of the course of payments as shown between the debtor and the creditor from the documentation provided by the creditor
  5. Preparation and exhibition of the data for "New Value" defense
  6. Review of the extent to which the creditor provided goods and/or services during the applicable time period, for which the debtor did not pay the creditor
  7. Assessment of the need to compare the payment practices and history between the debtor and creditor with other similarly situated creditors
  8. An initial legal review, opinion, and recommendation by the law firm Creim, Macias & Koenig LLP based on the Riemer Preference Defense analysis
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Why should I use Riemer when I have in-house counsel?

The analysis needs to be done no matter who defends your claim.

  • Riemer PDS can do it faster and cheaper than most in-house counsel.
  • Riemer specializes in analysis. We have methods and processes in place to quickly analyze your defense options.
  • Most in-house counsels are not experts in preference defense. CMK specializes in creditor claims and preference defense.
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How do I get started?

Download a Preference Defense service request form or call Riemer Reporting Service at 877-RIEMER-1 for a copy. Complete the form and fax it to (440) 835-4594. The Riemer defense analyst will contact you within 24 hours to start the process. If you have any further questions, please e-mail RiemerPDS@riemer.com.

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