You're owed money in someone else's bankruptcy

A six-step play for a bankruptcy claims buyer. It starts from CourtListener, stacks News search on top, and ends in a message to the creditor's controller that is useful before anyone replies.

Deploy in Glider

Installs this workflow, five project tables and a draft campaign. Source access and any external outputs are checked before research.

Category: Public records
Sources: 2
Steps: 6

The workflow

TriggerCourtListenerChapter 11 dockets and the creditor schedules
Evidence
News searchExpected recovery for unsecured creditors
Artifact
What you hand overA claim summary: the scheduled amount, the case status, the expected recovery range and a firm bid.
Contact
GliderFinds the creditor's controller, with a verified work email and a phone
Message
Send itFrom your own mailboxes, evidence attached

Why it earns attention

A trade creditor in a Chapter 11 may wait years for a fraction of what it is owed. A fixed amount today, with the schedule entry already found, is a decision a controller can make in a week.

The play in six steps

01
Find creditors in new cases
CourtListener
What you pull
New Chapter 11 dockets and their schedules of unsecured creditors: creditor name, amount owed, and whether the claim is marked disputed.
Why it matters
The schedule names every trade creditor and the amount. Undisputed claims are the ones that trade cleanly.
Example
Chapter 11 filed Oct 2 · creditor listed for $86,400 · not disputed · trade payable
02
Estimate what unsecured creditors will get
News search
What you pull
The disclosure statement's estimated recovery if filed, and coverage of comparable cases in the same industry: recovery and time to payout.
Why it matters
The creditor needs a realistic comparison. A recovery of cents on the dollar in two years makes a fixed price today look good.
Example
Comparable retail cases: 12 to 30 cents on the dollar · paid 18 to 30 months after filing
03
Build the claim summary and bid
Your artifact
What you build
One page: the schedule entry, the case timeline, the expected recovery range, and your firm bid with how fast you pay.
Why it works
It gives the controller everything needed to take the decision to their CFO in one email.
Example
$86,400 claim · bid 22 cents · paid in 10 business days · no further involvement
04
Check before you send
Read the claim on the docket yourself, confirm the bar date, and check the creditor has not already sold or filed a different amount. Keep the bid honest about the risk you are buying.
05
Find the creditor's controller in Glider
Glider
Search for
ControllerCFOCredit managerAccounts receivable manager
Why them
The credit manager has written the receivable off in their head; the controller and CFO decide whether to sell it.
What you get
A work email and a direct phone, with the email verified before it goes into a sequence.
06
Send the evidence, then run the first test
To: the creditor's controllerEvery line comes from a step above
You're listed as an unsecured creditor for $86,400 in a former customer's Chapter 11.¹ In comparable cases, unsecured creditors have recovered 12 to 30 cents on the dollar, two years or more after filing.² We'll pay a fixed 22 cents now, in ten business days. Here's the schedule entry and our bid.³ Worth a look?
- Facts from the data (the number is the step)
- What you built for them
- One small ask
Why it works
It tells them exactly which receivable, what they can realistically expect, and a firm number. They can verify the claim on the docket.
First test
One large case, thirty trade creditors with claims over $25k.
Success looks like
Three claims purchased out of twenty creditors contacted.