Contents
If you’re searching for ‘MCA defense lawyers,’ you already know something is wrong — and it’s getting worse. Confessions of judgment, UCC-1 liens, personal guarantees, and daily ACH debits — and know how to dismantle them under both Florida and New York law. The top-rated firms are not traditional law firms. They’re specialized debt settlement companies that coordinate with licensed attorneys for the legal work. Here are the three best options in 2026.
Important: Delancey Street is not a law firm. They’re a specialized MCA debt settlement company that works with a nationwide network of licensed attorneys — and that distinction matters. Their attorneys handle COJ challenges, usury defenses, UCC lien disputes, funder negotiations, and settlement execution for business owners across all 50 states — including Miami and throughout Miami-Dade County. Their network is built around New York’s dual usury framework — which governs the vast majority of MCA contracts regardless of where your business operates — and the evolving appellate case law that is reclassifying MCAs as loans subject to interest rate caps.
For Miami business owners, Delancey Street’s attorneys use Florida’s strong protections alongside New York law. Florida’s prohibition on confessions of judgment, the state’s 18% usury cap (25% criminal threshold) under Fla. Stat. §687.02, and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) all provide additional defense layers. Their attorneys file motions to vacate confessions of judgment, raise criminal usury defenses when effective APRs exceed 25%, dispute overbroad UCC-1 filings with the Florida Department 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.
Important: National Debt Relief is not a law firm and is not an MCA defense specialist. They’re the largest debt settlement company in the United States — over $1 billion in debt settled, 550,000+ clients served. They handle general unsecured business debts — credit cards, vendor accounts, lines of credit — but they do not challenge confessions of judgment, file usury defenses, or dispute UCC liens. If your Miami business debt is primarily traditional unsecured debt and not MCA-specific, they’re a strong option. If you’re dealing with MCA funders, COJs, or frozen accounts — you need a firm with MCA-specific attorney involvement.
Important: CuraDebt is not a law firm and is not an MCA defense specialist. They are a Hollywood, Florida–based debt resolution company with over 25 years of experience handling business debt, consumer debt, and IRS/state tax resolution. If your Miami business faces both MCA debt and IRS or Florida Department of Revenue obligations, CuraDebt can handle the tax side while a firm like Delancey Street handles the MCA defense. They do not challenge COJs, raise usury defenses, or file legal motions against MCA funders.
MCA defense is a specific subset of business debt law focused on protecting business owners from the legal instruments that merchant cash advance funders use to collect: confessions of judgment, UCC Article 9 liens, personal guarantee enforcement, and aggressive daily ACH withdrawals. It is fundamentally different from general debt settlement because the legal tools, the counterparties, and the timeline are completely different.
Miami’s economy is uniquely diverse and uniquely vulnerable to MCA distress. International trade through PortMiami, the hospitality and nightlife industry in South Beach and Brickell, real estate development across Miami-Dade, construction companies fueling the city’s growth, and tech startups in Wynwood — all of these sectors rely on fast access to capital that traditional banks often can’t provide quickly enough. When MCAs stack up and daily ACH debits consume 20–30% of revenue, the spiral picks up speed fast — especially for businesses with seasonal tourism fluctuations or project-based construction income.
A general debt settlement firm negotiates with credit card companies who follow predictable collection timelines. An MCA defense attorney is negotiating with funders who can freeze your bank account overnight using a pre-signed confession of judgment, who have already filed blanket UCC-1 liens against every asset your business owns, and who are pulling 15–25% of your daily revenue through ACH debits. The urgency is different. The stakes are different. And if you don’t have the right team, the outcome is different too.
The moment your Miami business misses a merchant cash advance payment, the clock starts ticking — lenders are now thinking “is this person about to default, are we about to lose our money?” It’s ticking against you. Defaulting on an MCA isn’t like traditional default — it’s governed by Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 9 provisions, some lenders will use confessions of judgment (COJs), and it’s all tied to daily repayment structures.
For Miami businesses — whether you run a restaurant in Little Havana, a construction firm in Doral, or a tech company in Wynwood — the consequences hit immediately: frozen bank accounts, liens on receivables, or even personal asset seizures if you’ve signed a guarantee. But here’s the thing — those consequences aren’t inevitable. Florida law gives you real protections, including the fact that the state does not authorize confessions of judgment.
You signed an MCA agreement with a lender which contains a COJ — this is a clause that lets the lender get a judgment against you without notice. No hearing. No chance to respond. Most MCA funders are based in New York, and they file COJs in New York courts even when the borrower operates in Florida. Miami business owners have exceptionally strong defenses against this practice.
Strategy 1: Challenge the COJ Under Florida and New York Law. Florida does not authorize confessions of judgment — the state has no statutory framework permitting them, making them essentially unenforceable against Florida businesses. New York’s 2019 COJ reform (CPLR §3218 amendment) bans the filing of COJs against out-of-state defendants. If a New York-based MCA funder filed a COJ against your Miami business after August 2019, it is almost certainly voidable.
Strategy 2: Negotiate Post-Default. Lenders always prefer repayment over litigation. Enforcing a New York judgment in Florida requires a domestication proceeding in Florida courts, and Florida’s strong debtor protections — including the unlimited homestead exemption — make collection uncertain. Offer a lump-sum settlement (30–50% of the balance) from refinancing or asset liquidation.
You took a second MCA to pay the first. Then maybe a third. Now the daily payments consume 30% of your revenue — and you can’t make payroll. Under UCC § 9-607, lenders can place UCC-1 liens on receivables with the Florida Department of State, which makes it impossible to get new financing. This is particularly devastating for Miami businesses in tourism, hospitality, and construction — industries where cash flow is inherently cyclical and project-dependent.
Strategy 1: Consolidate via Ch. 11 or State Law. Chapter 11 lets you pause collections and reclassify MCAs as unsecured debt. Florida’s usury statute (Fla. Stat. §687.02) caps interest at 18% per year, with criminal usury at 25%. If your MCA’s effective rate exceeds these thresholds and can be reclassified as a loan, you may have grounds to void the contract. Florida’s unlimited homestead exemption under Art. X, §4 of the Florida Constitution also provides significant asset protection in bankruptcy proceedings.
Strategy 2: Use Cash Flow Realities. Provide lenders with 6 months of bank statements showing unsustainable withdrawals. For Miami businesses with seasonal tourism revenue or project-based construction income, demonstrating cash flow disruption is particularly effective. Lenders always presume you’re lying — a skilled business debt settlement company can paint the picture with hard numbers.
MCA contracts often mask APRs exceeding 100% — sometimes 200% or more. Florida has a clear usury framework: Fla. Stat. §687.02 caps interest at 18% per year, with criminal usury at 25%. New York courts have increasingly reclassified MCAs as loans, triggering usury penalties under NY Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-501. The NY Attorney General’s $1 billion judgment against Yellowstone Capital demonstrated the scale of legal exposure funders now face.
Strategy 1: Usury as a Defense. A $50K advance at a 1.4 factor rate costs $70K over 6 months — approximately 150% APR. Florida’s usury cap is 18% (criminal threshold 25%), and New York’s criminal usury threshold is also 25%. If the MCA is reclassified as a loan, the contract is void under either state’s law. Discovery is key: subpoena the lender’s underwriting docs.
Strategy 2: Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). Florida’s FDUTPA (Fla. Stat. §501.204) prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in commerce. If an MCA funder misrepresented the cost of financing, used bait-and-switch tactics, or engaged in unfair collection practices against your Miami business, you may have an additional claim under FDUTPA — which allows for actual damages, attorney fees, and injunctive relief.
Regardless of the fact that your business operates in Miami, the legal framework that determines your MCA defense strategy is almost certainly governed by New York law. The majority of MCA funders are headquartered in New York, and nearly all MCA contracts designate New York courts as the governing jurisdiction. This means a Miami business owner is fighting under the same legal rules as a business owner in Manhattan.
Here’s why that actually works in your favor. New York operates a dual usury framework: civil interest is capped at 16% annually, while any effective rate above 25% constitutes criminal usury. The consequences of crossing the criminal threshold are severe — the contract is declared void as a matter of law, and the funder forfeits the right to recover both principal and interest. Recent appellate decisions have increasingly classified MCAs with fixed daily payments and no genuine reconciliation provision as loans subject to these caps.
Miami business owners get the benefit of both legal systems. Florida’s 18% usury cap, FDUTPA consumer protection, COJ prohibition, and unlimited homestead exemption layer on top of New York’s usury framework. The CFPB has separately classified merchant cash advances as “credit” under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, signaling a broader federal regulatory shift.
The difference between a good MCA defense attorney and a bad one is the difference between settling your $200K in MCA debt for $80K and losing your business. Here are the three questions that matter for Miami business owners:
1. Have you handled MCA defense specifically — including Florida cases? Not consumer debt. Not medical debt. MCA debt. Ask how many COJs they’ve challenged, how many usury defenses they’ve raised under both Florida and New York law, and what their average settlement percentage is. If they can’t answer with specifics, keep looking.
2. Do licensed attorneys handle the legal work? Settlement negotiation alone is not MCA defense. You need attorneys who are licensed by the Florida Bar and who file motions to vacate COJs, challenge UCC liens filed with the Florida Department of State, subpoena funder underwriting documents for usury discovery, and draft enforceable settlement agreements.
3. What are the fees and when do you pay? Legitimate MCA defense firms charge 18–25% of the enrolled debt amount, collected only after delivering results. Any firm that charges upfront fees before settling your debt is violating FTC guidelines — walk away.
Your search is over. Here are the three top-rated firms serving Miami business owners dealing with MCA debt in 2026. Only one — Delancey Street — offers true MCA defense with attorney-coordinated COJ challenges, usury defenses, and UCC lien disputes.
The only firm on this list that provides true MCA defense: COJ challenges, usury defenses, UCC lien disputes, and emergency motions to unfreeze bank accounts — all coordinated through a nationwide network of licensed attorneys. Over $100M settled. No upfront fees. All 50 states, including full coverage for Miami and Miami-Dade County.
Not an MCA defense specialist — let’s be clear about that. National Debt Relief handles general unsecured business debt: no COJ challenges, no usury defenses, no legal motions. If your Miami business debt is mostly traditional unsecured debt and not MCAs, they’re a proven option.
Not an MCA defense specialist. CuraDebt is based in nearby Hollywood, FL and handles business debt and IRS/state tax resolution — no COJ challenges, no usury defenses. If your Miami business is dealing with IRS or Florida Department of Revenue problems on top of MCA debt, CuraDebt can handle the tax side while a firm like Delancey Street fights the MCA battle.
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 — using both Florida and New York law. Over $100M settled. Free consultation.
Call for a Free ConsultationThis page is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. The content on this page should not be construed as an endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee of any specific debt settlement company or outcome. Individual results may vary based on the nature of the debt, creditor policies, and the specific circumstances of each case.
The rankings and evaluations presented reflect the independent editorial judgment of our review team based on publicly available information. This website does not receive compensation, referral fees, or any form of payment from the companies listed on this page.
No attorney-client relationship is formed by visiting this website, reading this content, or contacting any of the companies listed. Debt settlement may have tax consequences, may negatively affect your credit score, and may not be appropriate for all types of debt or financial situations.
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.
Attorney Advertising. This page may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.