Aircraft Loan Defaults and Enforcement: Replevin, Foreclosure, and Litigation Strategies Under Florida Law

Laura Rodriguez, Attorney | Barakat + Bossa

Laura Rodriguez is an Attorney in Barakat + Bossa’s Aviation Practice and its Litigation + Dispute Resolution group, where her work includes the enforcement side of aviation finance: aircraft foreclosures, repossession, and asset recovery for lenders and other secured parties after a borrower default. She has been part of the firm’s team on aviation enforcement matters, including a court-authorized repossession of an aircraft at Miami Executive Airport following litigation to enforce payment for maintenance services. She also represents clients in complex commercial litigation involving breach of contract, business torts, and partnership disputes, and

is actively involved in case development, legal strategy, motion practice, and trial preparation.

        •     Education & Credentials

Ms. Rodriguez earned her J.D. from Florida International University College of Law, where she served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Migna Sanchez-Llorens at the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court. She holds a B.A. in World Politics and Hispanic Studies from Hamilton College. She is admitted to the Florida Bar and to the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.

        •     Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Rodriguez was selected to speak on aircraft foreclosures at the Florida Aviation Business Association (FABA) 2026 Conference in Tampa, addressing the legal and procedural considerations that shape enforcement, recovery, and risk in aviation finance matters, alongside colleagues presenting on aircraft transactions and the panel “Flight Plan for Compliance – Legal & Tax Essentials in Aviation.”

        •     Professional Involvement

Ms. Rodriguez practices within Barakat + Bossa’s Aviation Practice, which advises lenders, lessors, and lienholders on aircraft repossession and recovery actions, enforcement of security interests and lien rights, litigation involving loan defaults, breach of lease, and title disputes, and creditor-side strategy in bankruptcy proceedings. She is a member of the Florida Bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. She works in English and Spanish.

        •    Experience

Ms. Rodriguez’s practice centers on aviation enforcement and commercial litigation. On the aviation side, she has worked on matters involving the enforcement of payment obligations for aircraft maintenance work and the recovery of the aircraft itself, including a matter in which the firm secured a final judgment for damages and foreclosure and executed a writ of replevin resulting in recovery of the aircraft. Her broader litigation work involves breach of contract, business torts, and partnership disputes, which she supports from case development through legal strategy, motion practice, and trial preparation.

SESSION 1 – Securing the Aircraft: Priority, Default, and Ex Parte Replevin | Laura Rodriguez | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session covers the first phase of an aircraft loan default: establishing whose claim comes first and getting control of the aircraft before it can be moved. It starts with how FAA recording and Fla. Stat. § 329.01 set priority among competing interests, and where UCC-1 filings still matter for engines, parts, and proceeds. It then addresses mechanic’s and fuel liens that can be perfected without possession under Fla. Stat. §§ 329.41 and 329.51, and why those statutes leave priority to FAA recording. Next, it turns to events of default, acceleration and notice, and the limits on self-help repossession under Fla. Stat. § 679.609, including disputes over logbooks and maintenance records. The session closes with the ex parte prejudgment writ of replevin under Fla. Stat. § 78.068. It covers why seizing the aircraft without advance notice gives lenders a strategic advantage, how to establish nonpayment or flight risk through sworn facts, how the bond is set, and how to defend the writ against a motion to dissolve.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – From Possession to Final Judgment: Disposition, Deficiency, and FAA Close-Out | Laura Rodriguez | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

Repossessing the aircraft doesn’t end the borrower’s ownership or guarantee the lender’s recovery. This session covers how to complete the process without losing the deficiency. It compares judicial and nonjudicial disposition under Part VI of Chapter 679, including who must receive notice (the borrower and other FAA-recorded secured parties), the limits on lender purchases at private sales, and how court approval under Fla. Stat. § 679.627(3) can protect the sale from commercial-reasonableness challenges. It then moves to deficiency litigation: the lender’s burden to prove compliance under Fla. Stat. § 679.626, aircraft valuation disputes, and common borrower defenses. The session ends with the FAA close-out and why the Certificate of Repossession records the result of the Florida proceeding but cannot cure a defective foreclosure.