Collecting for Overseas Suppliers in U.S. Courts

Yes. Under New York's long-arm statute (CPLR 302), a foreign supplier can sue a U.S. buyer in New York if the buyer transacted business in the state, contracted to supply goods or services in New York, or maintains bank accounts or assets in the state. New York courts routinely hear commercial disputes brought by international plaintiffs against domestic defendants.

Yes. New York is one of the few jurisdictions that allows prejudgment attachment under CPLR 6201. If you can demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits and a risk that the debtor will dissipate assets, the court can issue an order freezing the buyer’s bank accounts, restraining transfers of property, and securing assets before a judgment is entered. This is one of the most powerful tools available to creditors in the United States.

Costs vary depending on the complexity of the case and whether the buyer contests the claim. Many international supplier collection cases resolve after a demand letter or prejudgment attachment, without a full trial. In addition to recovering the unpaid invoices, New York law provides for 9% annual prejudgment interest (CPLR 5004), and the purchase agreement may allow recovery of attorneys' fees. We provide a clear fee structure at the outset so there are no surprises.

Account stated is a legal doctrine under New York law that treats unpaid invoices as an agreed debt if the buyer received the invoices and did not object within a reasonable time. This is powerful for international suppliers because it eliminates the need to prove every detail of the underlying transaction. If you shipped the goods, sent the invoices, and the buyer stayed silent, you may be entitled to summary judgment on the full amount without a trial.

New York's jurisdiction extends beyond companies physically located in the state. If the buyer has a bank account in New York, transacted business in New York, or the contract specifies New York as the governing jurisdiction, New York courts can hear the case. Once you obtain a New York judgment, it can be enforced against the buyer's assets in any U.S. state through domestication under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Timeline depends on whether the buyer has a legitimate defense. A demand letter can resolve the matter in days. Prejudgment attachment applications can be decided within weeks. If the case proceeds to summary judgment with clear documentation (invoices, shipping records, no timely objection from the buyer), a judgment can be obtained in 4 to 8 months. Contested cases that go to trial take 12 to 18 months. Judgment enforcement begins immediately after the judgment is entered.

Six years from the date of breach under CPLR 213. For unpaid invoices, the clock starts running when the payment was due. If the purchase agreement specifies payment terms (net 30, net 60, etc.), the breach occurs the day after the payment deadline passes. Do not wait. The longer you delay, the harder it becomes to locate and freeze assets.

New York recognizes foreign money judgments under the Uniform Foreign Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (CPLR Article 53). If you obtained a judgment in China, India, or another country, you can petition a New York court to recognize and enforce that judgment against the buyer’s U.S. assets. The judgment must be final, conclusive, and enforceable in the country where it was issued. This is often faster and less expensive than filing a new lawsuit in the United States.

If you are a Chinese manufacturer and your claim has been assigned to Sinosure (China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation), Sinosure’s subrogation rights allow it to pursue the debt on your behalf through U.S. counsel. If you are a supplier from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, or another country without an equivalent government-backed export credit agency, you will need to retain U.S. counsel directly. Either way, the legal tools available in New York courts are the same: prejudgment attachment, account stated claims, and aggressive post-judgment enforcement.

Yes. We work with international clients who communicate in their native language. Court filings and proceedings are conducted in English, but all client communications can be handled through interpreters or bilingual counsel. The strength of your claim depends on your documentation (contracts, invoices, shipping records, correspondence), not on your English proficiency.

Not every unpaid invoice requires a lawsuit. Litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and public. Before filing, you need honest answers to three questions: Is the debt large enough to justify the cost? Does the buyer have assets to collect against? And have you exhausted every reasonable alternative? A demand letter from U.S. counsel resolves many disputes without court involvement. A structured payment plan, renegotiated terms, or a mediator can preserve a business relationship that has future value. We litigate when the numbers justify it, when the buyer is unresponsive or acting in bad faith, or when assets are at risk of disappearing. We do not file lawsuits for the sake of filing lawsuits.

Not necessarily. If the buyer is an ongoing customer and the relationship has future value, filing a lawsuit can destroy that relationship permanently. This is where strategy matters more than aggression. We work with suppliers to develop collection approaches that preserve the commercial relationship while recovering what is owed. That might mean a formal demand paired with revised payment terms. It might mean placing future orders on prepayment or letter-of-credit terms while collecting on the past-due balance in installments. It might mean retaining counsel in the buyer’s home state to send a local demand rather than filing in New York. Litigation is one tool. It is not always the right tool. We assess the full picture, including the value of the ongoing business, before recommending a path.

You are not limited to New York. If the buyer is based in Texas, California, Florida, or any other state, we evaluate whether it makes more sense to file there. The decision depends on where the buyer’s assets are, what the local rules on prejudgment attachment look like, and whether a New York judgment would need to be domesticated in another state for enforcement. When filing outside New York is the better strategy, we work with local counsel in that jurisdiction to handle the matter. We coordinate the litigation, manage the strategy, and make sure the approach is consistent whether the case is in one state or three.

This is the most common defense American buyers raise against overseas suppliers. Under the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), a buyer who accepts goods and fails to notify the seller of defects within a reasonable time loses the right to reject them. If the buyer used the goods, resold them, or waited months before raising a quality complaint, that defense is weak. The strength of your position depends on your documentation: inspection reports, quality certifications, shipping records, and any communications where the buyer acknowledged receipt without complaint. A buyer who raises a defect defense for the first time only after being sued for payment is making a litigation argument, not a legitimate business complaint.

Bankruptcy changes everything. Once a buyer files for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 or Chapter 11, an automatic stay prevents all creditors from collecting. You cannot sue, freeze accounts, or seize assets without permission from the bankruptcy court. However, you still have options. You can file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy case to preserve your right to a distribution. If you shipped goods within 20 days before the bankruptcy filing, you may have an administrative priority claim under 11 U.S.C. 503(b)(9), which gets paid before general unsecured creditors. If you retained a security interest in the goods, you may have a secured claim. And if the buyer fraudulently transferred assets before filing, those transfers can be clawed back. The key is to act immediately once you learn of the filing.

Yes. Many international trade relationships operate on purchase orders, email confirmations, and course of dealing rather than formal written contracts. New York law recognizes several theories of recovery that do not require a signed agreement: goods sold and delivered (you shipped, they received, they owe you), account stated (you invoiced, they did not object), unjust enrichment (they benefited from your goods and it would be unfair to let them keep them without paying), and quantum meruit (you provided goods of a known value). Your invoices, shipping records, emails, WeChat messages, and payment history all serve as evidence. A formal contract is helpful but not required.

Everything. Do not delete any communications. Preserve all emails, WeChat messages, WhatsApp conversations, text messages, and phone records with the buyer. Keep every invoice, purchase order, packing list, bill of lading, customs declaration, inspection report, and delivery confirmation. Save any proof that the buyer received the goods: signed delivery receipts, warehouse intake records, or downstream resale records. If the buyer made partial payments, keep records of every payment including bank transfer confirmations. If the buyer raised any complaints about quality or delivery, save those communications as well. The strongest collection cases are built on complete documentation, and the time to organize it is now, not after the lawsuit is filed.

If you are the buyer in this situation, you have defenses. Not every claim is valid. Suppliers sometimes overstate amounts owed, ship nonconforming goods, or fail to meet delivery deadlines. The UCC provides buyers with rights to reject defective goods, revoke acceptance, and offset damages against the unpaid balance. If Sinosure or a collection agency is pursuing you, do not respond directly to them before consulting counsel. Anything you say or write can be used against you. We represent both sides of international trade disputes and can assess whether the claim against you is valid, inflated, or fabricated, and develop a defense strategy that protects your business.

No. Foreign companies do not need to be registered, licensed, or qualified to do business in the United States in order to file a lawsuit here. Any foreign entity that has been harmed by a U.S. company can bring a claim in a U.S. court that has jurisdiction over the dispute. You do not need a U.S. subsidiary, a U.S. tax identification number, or any form of government approval. You need U.S. counsel admitted to practice in the relevant jurisdiction, and you need a viable legal claim. That is it.

No. U.S. courts, and New York courts in particular, have a long history of adjudicating international commercial disputes fairly. New York is one of the most commonly chosen jurisdictions in international contracts precisely because its courts are experienced, predictable, and impartial. Federal courts applying diversity jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. 1332) treat foreign plaintiffs the same as domestic plaintiffs. Judges in the Southern District of New York and New York Supreme Court (Commercial Division) handle cross-border disputes regularly and are familiar with the documentary patterns of international trade: purchase orders in two languages, WeChat communications, wire transfer confirmations, and bills of lading from overseas ports. Your claim is judged on the evidence, not on where your company is based.

They may try. The most common counterclaim in supplier collection cases is a claim for defective goods, late delivery, or breach of warranty. In our experience, buyers who have never complained about quality during the business relationship suddenly discover defects only after being sued for nonpayment. New York courts see through this. Under the UCC, a buyer who accepts goods and fails to give timely notice of defects is barred from raising those defects as a defense. If the buyer used the goods, resold them, or waited months to complain, the counterclaim is weak. We prepare for counterclaims from the outset and build the record to defeat them at summary judgment.

Generally, no. U.S. tariffs are paid by the importer, not the exporter. The fact that a buyer’s costs increased because of tariffs imposed on Chinese or other imported goods does not excuse the buyer from paying the supplier for goods already shipped and delivered. Sanctions are a different issue: if the supplier or the transaction is subject to U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), that could affect the enforceability of the contract. But standard trade tariffs under Section 301 or Section 232 are not a defense to a breach of contract claim. If the buyer agreed to purchase goods at a specified price and received those goods, the buyer owes that price regardless of what tariffs were assessed at the border.

It depends on the language of the clause. If the contract contains a mandatory forum selection clause requiring all disputes to be resolved in a specific foreign jurisdiction, U.S. courts will generally enforce that clause. However, many contracts use permissive language ("disputes may be resolved in...") rather than mandatory language ("disputes shall exclusively be resolved in..."). Permissive clauses do not prevent you from filing in New York. Even with a mandatory clause, there are exceptions: if the chosen forum is unavailable, if enforcing the clause would be unreasonable or unjust, or if the clause was obtained through fraud or overreaching. We review every contract before advising on jurisdiction.

A dissolved company is not immune from lawsuits. Under New York law, a dissolved corporation can still be sued for obligations incurred before dissolution (Business Corporation Law 1006). If the owners transferred assets out of the company before dissolving it, those transfers may be voidable as fraudulent conveyances under New York Debtor and Creditor Law. Individual owners, officers, or personal guarantors may also be personally liable depending on the corporate structure and whether they signed personal guarantees. We investigate the buyer’s corporate status, asset transfers, and successor entities before filing to make sure we are suing the right parties and that there are assets to collect against.