2026 Best MCA Defense Lawyers in Virginia Beach, VA

Top MCA Defense Firms for Virginia Beach Businesses - 2026

They will ask you a few basic questions, and then connect you with an attorney who can give you up to 30 minutes of legal advice. That call costs no more than $35, paid in advance. The great thing about it is that you get to speak with a Virginia lawyer.

House Bill 1027

Virginia became the second state in the country to make merchant cash advance providers register with the state, and it did so by passing the MCA provider bill, House Bill 1027, signed on April 11, 2022, to become law. It aims straight at merchant cash advance firms, with a definition that covers deals repaid as a percentage of sales. That includes both traditional deals that require payment out of sales, and fixed payment agreements with a true-up.

The new statute banned confession-of-judgment clauses from Virginia contracts. That’s a legal rule that lets the funder move the judge to enter a judgment if the deal falls apart. Courts won’t enforce them in Virginia. And lawsuits to enforce the deal must be filed in Virginia, even if they have a forum selection clause requiring another state. By comparison, since 2019, New York protects business owners by forbidding the filing of a confession of judgment unless the owner lived in New York when it was signed or filed.

The new law also protects merchants from being forced to arbitrate in person outside the area where they are based. It puts all the cost of the arbitration onto the funder. But there is a catch. There are still legal arguments that say Virginia’s arbitration rules may be overcome by the federal arbitration act. The smart play is to talk with a lawyer who knows how funders may try to avoid Virginia’s arbitration rules, because that lawyer will know what to do about it.

Under the new law, providers and brokers must first register with the State Corporation Commission by November 1, 2022. Then, they must renew their registrations annually. You can check with the State Corporation Commission to see if the funder you’re talking to is registered. The Bureau of Financial Institutions, part of the State Corporation Commission, has a Company Search tool online. Or you can call the Bureau at 804-371-9657. The new law lets the Virginia Attorney General’s office file a lawsuit if a funder steps out of line. The AG may ask the court to shut down the shady act, make the funder return the money to the victims, pay damages, or pay for lawyer’s fees.

Make sure you got all of the disclosures when you were offered the merchant cash advance. The law requires that they disclose the finance charge, total repayment, estimated number of payments, payment amounts, other fees, collateral, and what it pays to a broker. They don’t have to tell you what the APR is. There are still loose ends in the law. The law does not define some of the terms in the bill, such as what the finance charge is, or how to figure out your estimated sales over the course of the contract.

Does the law even apply to you? Maybe not.

• Banks and credit unions are left out.
• Deals for more than $500,000 fall outside it.
• And lenders doing no more than five deals a year are exempt, too.

Talk to a lawyer who knows MCA lawsuits first.

Ask Them if They’ve Worked with This Law Before

It’s the lawyer you talk to at the consult who counts, not the company. Ask them if they’ve worked with this law before. Ask them how they would check the funder’s registration and what they would look at to see if you got your disclosures and whether the deal counts under the Virginia law. And ask whether they know what arguments funders use to try to keep Virginia rules out of the courtroom, because the best lawyers will understand that well.

Five Years to File a Lawsuit

In Virginia, a creditor has five years to file a lawsuit on a written contract. When the clock starts ticking, though, is another matter. Five years can sound like a long time, but it’s easy for years to pass while you deal with a funder, talk with people, check to see if the law will really be helpful for you, and make up your mind. Don’t wait. Gather your contract, your disclosures, and all other paperwork from the funder. Check to see if they registered. Book the legal consult and start reviewing your documents together. A consult isn’t expensive, and it can be the best money you ever spent.