CHAPTER 7 LOCATION OF CORPORATE RECORDS AND USE OF COMPUTER DATA BASES

• Jurisdiction: United States

Land and Permitting II
(Jan 1996)
CHAPTER 7
LOCATION OF CORPORATE RECORDS AND USE OF COMPUTER DATA BASES
Joe H. Dickerson
Joe Dickerson & Associates, L.L.C.
Denver, Colorado

Investigators in the last half of the 90's have many reasons to identify and locate people and entities as well as their assets. For the purpose of this paper we will consider the following matters: identifying and locating PRPs (potentially responsible parties) under CERCLA; locating pre and post judgment debtors; determining owners of a defunct entity; locating "lost" mineral owners; and determining assets of a party.

Regardless of the matters, what we are really concerned with is locating parties and determining their assets. In these situations, the first thing the investigator must ask (and continue to ask) is, "Where in the world could this information be?" The investigator can answer many of the questions about the location of information by calling upon experience. Have you ever: bought or sold real estate; paid real estate taxes; formed a business entity; listed your social security number when completing an application (any kind); been involved in a civil or criminal case or a divorce; had a drivers license; owned a motor vehicle, phone, boat, or snowmobile; engaged in a business or hobby that required registrations or license; had a bank account, charge account or loan; or been named in a newspaper, magazine, newsletter, etc.? If you answered "yes" to any of these, the investigator can find you, your business and your assets! The more years of record — the more information that can be found and the quicker and cheaper it is.

I like to start with public records for several reasons — first because they are public and no one can deny me access to them. They are also quick, inexpensive and easy to access. Much of a persons life is recorded in public records and it can't be hidden.

COUNTY RECORDS

Records of the County Clerk and Recorder include real estate grantee, grantor recordings reflecting real estate conveyances as well as deeds of trust reflecting secured parties. Mineral

[Page 7-2]

interest and leases are also recorded here. Marriage license application, marriage certificates and voter registration files containing valuable information are also recorded with the clerk and recorder.

The county tax assessor's records can be accessed by the name of the property owner, the property address (or legal description) or by the parcel number. Note that the mailing address for the property owner may be different from the property address. This may indicate non-homestead property such as a vacation home or a rental property. Also note that the tax payer may be different than the owner. Assessors records are not proof of ownership but they do provide excellent leads and an indication of value.

STATE RECORDS

The Secretary of State / or Corporation Commission, (in some states) maintains corporate articles, amendments, trade names and reports as well as organization documents for limited liability companies and limited partnerships. These documents contain valuable information including the names and addresses of the principals.

Uniform Commercial Code filings are recorded either with the Secretary of State or with the County Clerk and Recorder. The UCC files contain...