Disputing the Assignee’s Claim Determination: When Your Number Gets Cut

The assignee allowed your claim at half the filed amount — or rejected it outright. Determinations are challengeable, and the challenge process rewards the creditor whose file was built for it.

What the Law Says

Assignees review and object to claims as fiduciaries; disputed determinations resolve through negotiation, the estate’s dispute procedures, and ultimately court proceedings where the creditor sues on the claim. The documentation standard that wins is the same one that should have accompanied the original filing.

How to Navigate It, Step by Step

1. Demand the objection’s basis in writing — specificity is owed, and vague cuts often retreat when pressed.
2. Answer with documents: the delivery records, signed contracts, and account statements that close the gap.
3. Negotiate the middle: allowed-claim stipulations resolve most disputes without court.
4. Escalate deliberately: suit on the claim is available; price it against the tier’s expected recovery.
5. Preserve the record throughout — every exchange feeds the court file if it comes to that.

Common Questions

The assignee says our invoices lack proof of delivery. We shipped for years on open account. Now what?

Course-of-dealing evidence works: payment history, reorders, and email confirmations establish delivery patterns that formal PODs would.

Is fighting a 30 percent haircut worth it if unsecureds recover 15 cents?

Run the math: the fight is over 30 percent of your claim times 15 cents — negotiate hard, litigate rarely, and let the numbers choose.