COURSE DESCRIPTION
Many companies lease rather than buy computers and servers, company cars and other capital equipment. These leases are government by UCC Article 2A, an intricate set of provisions governing their validity, treatment, and enforcement. If the lease is not properly drafted to comply with the UCC, it risks being re-characterized as a sale or a security interest, which give rise to substantially adverse financial and tax consequences. This program will also provide you with a practical guide to reviewing equipment leases, including spotting red flags and avoiding recharacterization.
- Types of equipment leases – “true” leases, synthetic leases, “lease to own” arrangements, and more
- Spotting red flags of financeable leases – and how to ensure UCC 2A compliance
- Rights and obligations of the parties – manufacturer, lessor and lessee – and remedies for breach
- Circumstances leading to re-characterization of a “true lease” as a sale or financing
- Adverse financial, tax and practical ramifications of lease re-characterization
Speaker:
Steven O. Weise is a partner in the Los Angeles office Proskauer Rose, LLP, where his practice encompasses all areas of commercial law. He has extensive experience in financings, particularly those secured by personal property. He also handles matters involving real property anti-deficiency laws, workouts, guarantees, sales of goods, letters of credit, commercial paper and checks, and investment securities. Mr. Weise formerly served as chair of the ABA Business Law Section. He has also served as a member of the Permanent Editorial Board of the UCC and as an Advisor to the UCC Code Article 9 Drafting Committee.