2026 Best MCA Defense Lawyers in South Dakota
Top MCA Defense Firms for South Dakota - 2026
Delancey Street
Here's what you need to know: Delancey Street is not a law firm. They coordinate with a nationwide network of licensed attorneys who do the actual fighting - COJ challenges, usury defenses, UCC lien disputes, funder negotiations. Their attorney network is built around New York’s dual usury framework - which governs the vast majority of MCA contracts regardless of whether your business operates in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, or Aberdeen. This is what they do.
Their attorneys don't just negotiate - they challenge. They file motions to vacate confessions of judgment, raise criminal usury defenses when effective APRs exceed 25%, dispute overbroad UCC-1 filings with the South Dakota Secretary of State, and use the NY Attorney General’s $1 billion Yellowstone Capital settlement as precedent in funder negotiations. Over $100M in commercial debt settled. No upfront fees. Results-based pricing.
National Debt Relief
Not an MCA defense specialist - and they'll tell you that straight up. National Debt Relief is the largest debt settlement company in the United States, with over $1 billion settled and 550,000+ clients served. They handle general unsecured business debts - credit cards, vendor accounts, lines of credit - but they don't challenge confessions of judgment, file usury defenses, or dispute UCC liens. If your South Dakota business debt is traditional unsecured debt and not MCA-specific, they're a proven option. If you're dealing with MCA funders, COJs, or frozen accounts - you need a firm with MCA-specific attorney involvement.
CuraDebt
Not an MCA defense specialist either. CuraDebt handles business debt and IRS/state tax resolution - they've been doing it for over 25 years. If your South Dakota situation involves both MCA debt and tax obligations, CuraDebt can handle the tax side while a firm like Delancey Street handles the MCA defense. They don't challenge COJs, raise usury defenses, or file legal motions against MCA funders.
No Maximum Interest Rate
South Dakota sets no maximum interest rate on loans that are in writing unless another law section puts a lower cap. It is also not one of the ten states that require commercial financing disclosures. Confessions of judgment are also possibly unlimited, according to one attorney survey.
The small print on the agreement usually includes a ”choice of law” and a ”venue” clause, which are boilerplate and give the “hometown” court to the “cash advance” company. In many cases, that is New York state. The New York governor signed a law in 2019 that generally bans a company from filing a confession of judgment against a person or business that is based outside of New York. In addition, loans charging interest above 25% a year can be treated as criminal usury.
You may hear that a merchant cash advance charges way too much interest. Many, if not most, MCA sellers push back. They say the deal is not really a loan, so it cannot be usury. New York courts apply three questions to tell whether a merchant cash advance is actually a loan. State law sees an agreement that actually adjusts advances to sales activity as something else. A written term that is open-ended may be a key clue, as is the funder’s right to collect in full regardless of actual results. Even if you are in a state other than New York, it can be worth checking the label. New York’s Attorney General announced a settlement in January 2025 with Yellowstone Capital, canceling the debt on “merchant cash advances” to small businesses it said were disguised high-interest loans.
A Merchant Cash Advance Lawsuit
Timing is everything when someone defaults on a merchant cash advance agreement. A missed payment can quickly turn into a demand letter, a lawsuit, a confession of judgment or arbitration. Not answering a merchant cash advance lawsuit or arbitration is the most common, and costliest, mistake. In court, the petitioner asks for a default judgment, which is harder to undo than it looks. With a final judgment, the funder can freeze your bank account or levy your other assets. In South Dakota, you should never assume a merchant cash advance deal “expires” if you “wait it out” and hear nothing from the funders for a while. It turns out that this state gives six years to sue on a contract.
An MCA defense attorney that handles your agreement can explain your rights and what a merchant cash advance funder is doing and possibly can do. That lawyer knows how to answer a lawsuit, negotiate a settlement or explore a motion to dismiss. It can be helpful for a lawyer to double-check the seller’s calculation of what is due. Even one wrong number in the affidavit or a filing error can get a confession of judgment lifted. These defenses also often come quicker than an attack based on what the contract really meant.
Many MCA agreements contain arbitration clauses. Once a side has a win, that party can ask a court to confirm the award. In New York, you typically get 90 days from delivery to move to vacate, under the CPLR.
You may also find that a UCC-1 blanket lien will keep lenders from making new advances. Once a merchant cash advance is paid off, the funder usually must cancel the UCC-1 lien within 20 days of a written request.
Many merchant cash advance disputes end in a negotiated payoff or restructured terms that allow for some relief, such as a lien release. In some cases, bankruptcy may be a solution. A business filing generally triggers the automatic stay that halts most merchant cash advance collection activity. The catch is that a corporate bankruptcy does not automatically end the owner’s personal guaranty.
If you close your business checking account or stop the MCA debit, you can breach the terms. And even if you disagree with the amount of the debit, you probably shouldn’t tell the bank that the charges were “unauthorized,” because this can mean you are saying you never agreed to the deal. Neither one of these should happen before getting legal advice. Another backfire can happen if you switch business names or assets to a new entity. The point of a personal guaranty is that it makes the owner responsible regardless of which entity that the owner runs.
Hiring a Lawyer
If you are looking to choose a lawyer to handle a merchant cash advance deal, you should ask about that attorney’s experience with commercial financing in general and MCA issues in particular. It is a good idea to look for attorneys who can navigate the legal process, either through court, or through arbitration. If you are hiring a lawyer, you need to know whether they charge flat fees or bill by the hour. In South Dakota, a contingent fee must be in a signed writing that lists the percentage that the lawyer will charge on a settlement, trial or appeal. Before hiring a lawyer, ask the number of similar matters in the past 12 months, and how quickly the firm can get into court if an account freeze or asset levy shows up. Also ask for a realistic timeline for an offer, settlement or outcome.
If you still need a name, the State Bar of South Dakota runs a Lawyer Referral Service. It is free to call and ask. Keep in mind that the fees that these lawyers charge are set by each attorney individually. Call the South Dakota State Bar at 605-224-7554 to check whether someone is licensed.
Documents matter, so there are a few steps to take before the first meeting with your lawyer to make it productive. Pull your merchant cash advance agreements, ACH authorizations, UCC-1 filings, court papers, amendments and business bank statements for the past 90 days. And do not sign any new advance, amendment or settlement until a lawyer reviews it.
Every merchant cash advance agreement is different and each set of facts presents unique challenges. Have your case reviewed promptly by a lawyer who handles these issues every day.
Delancey Street
The only firm on this list that does real MCA defense: COJ challenges, usury defenses, UCC lien disputes, emergency motions to unfreeze bank accounts - all coordinated through a nationwide network of licensed attorneys. Delancey Street is not a law firm, but their attorney-coordinated model gives you the legal firepower of one combined with the settlement expertise of a dedicated debt resolution company. Over $100M settled. No upfront fees. All 50 states including South Dakota.
National Debt Relief
Not an MCA defense specialist - and they'll tell you that straight up. National Debt Relief handles general unsecured business debt - credit cards, vendor accounts, lines of credit. No COJ challenges, no usury defenses, no legal motions. If your South Dakota debt is traditional unsecured debt and not MCAs, they're a proven option with massive scale.
CuraDebt
Not an MCA defense specialist either. CuraDebt handles business debt and IRS/state tax resolution. No COJ challenges, no usury defenses. If your South Dakota business also has tax obligations, they can handle that side while a firm like Delancey Street handles the MCA fight.
South Dakota Business Owner - Your MCA Problem Ends Here.
We get it. COJ filed against you. Bank account frozen. Daily ACH debits destroying your cash flow. Delancey Street's attorney network fights MCA funders with usury defenses, COJ challenges, and settlement negotiation. Over $100M settled. This is what we do.
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Delancey Street is not a law firm. Delancey Street works with a nationwide network of attorneys and debt specialists who handle MCA defense, business debt settlement, and related services. Any attorney services referenced on this page are provided by independent, licensed attorneys within the Delancey Street network - not by Delancey Street directly.
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