FirmLedge

For assignees and the counsel who run assignments

Company data in an ABC: what the assignee can license, and how quickly.

An assignment for the benefit of creditors moves a closing company's assets, its records among them, to an assignee who turns them into money for creditors. AI developers license de-identified operating records, so the archive can be one of those assets, if someone checks before the systems are shut off.

Written by Andrew Gallagher, founder of FirmLedge.Last reviewed .Sources are listed at the end of the page.

Authority

What an assignee holds.

The assignment transfers the company's assets to the assignee under state law. Florida's statutory form, for example, conveys "all books, records, and electronic data pertaining to all such assets" (Fla. Stat. section 727.104) [1]. The assignee is a fiduciary for the creditors: "In both bankruptcy proceedings and assignments for the benefit of creditors, fiduciaries are obligated to maximize value" [2].

An assignee also takes the company's limits with its assets. A trustee or assignee "cannot convey greater rights than the debtor possessed," so privacy policies, contract terms and third-party rights still bind the records [2].

Court involvement varies by state. A Florida assignee gives the company and all creditors at least 21 days' notice of a proposed sale outside the ordinary course; with no objection it may proceed without a further court order, and if someone objects the court holds a hearing (Fla. Stat. section 727.111(4)) [3]. Delaware's Uniform Act (SB 267, signed June 10, 2026) requires the assignee to petition the Court of Chancery within 14 days, and makes court approval of a sale optional [4]. In California the process is nonjudicial, with no court order approving the sale [5]. Your counsel decides what applies.

Timing

Speed is the advantage and the risk.

Assignments are "a substantially faster and more flexible liquidation process" than a bankruptcy liquidation [5]. The same speed means systems can be shut off before anyone checks what they hold: the accounting subscription lapses, the email tenant is canceled, the IT contractor's last invoice goes unpaid.

Canceling Google Workspace deletes users' data, and it cannot be restored [6]. For most Microsoft 365 business subscriptions, data is deleted after 30 days expired and 90 days disabled [7]. An export taken before then keeps the option open.

Before the systems go dark: the preservation checklist

In the first weekBefore anything is shut off
list the systems
Accounting, ERP, email, files and anything job or production related
find the dates
When each subscription ends and when the vendor deletes
hold the keys
Admin credentials with the assignee, not a departing employee
keep one person
Whoever knows the systems, for long enough to describe them

What has been reported

What has been reported.

On December 22, 2023, Douglas Wilson Companies announced it would act as assignee, through Zulily ABC, LLC, in Zulily's assignment for the benefit of creditors [8]. In March 2024, Beyond, Inc. bought Zulily's brand assets, including its website, domain names, trademarks and a customer database, for $4.5 million [9]. That was consumer data sold with a brand: context, not a comparable for operating records.

As of October 30, 2026, no public report was found of an assignee licensing a company's operating archive to an AI buyer. The sales that have been reported, in court and out of it, are on the market record.

Buyer questions

What buyers ask for.

Buyers with written requests for whole-company records ask the same few questions before they propose anything. None needs a file to answer. The terms they then propose differ from buyer to buyer; what the license says sets out the ones to compare.

What buyers askBefore any files
systems
Which accounting, ERP, CRM, job and production systems were used, and whether each still opens
years
How many years of history remain
connections
Whether orders connect to the work, the invoice and the payment
email
Whether the email tenant survives, and until when
authority
The assignment, and any consent the lender gives

What FirmLedge does

What FirmLedge does.

  1. Confirm control and systems

    A short call or email with whoever knows the systems establishes what survives, how many years remain, whether the records connect, and whether a lender's lien reaches them.

  2. The assessment, then an unnamed profile

    We prepare the one-page assessment from the notices, any court filing and public records, at no charge. It is not a valuation and not an offer. With your permission, we then describe the records to several buyers without naming the company.

  3. Proposals in one format

    Every proposal comes back in the same format: price, package, permitted uses, exclusivity, de-identification method and the buyer's fee to FirmLedge.

  4. Your decision and the notices

    Nothing moves without your written approval and any court, creditor or lender approval your counsel says is needed. We provide the information needed for any notice or report, including our fee arrangement.

Questions assignees ask

Assignments, answered.

Back to the estates page.

Can an assignee sell the company's data?
Generally, the assignment transfers the company's assets to the assignee, who liquidates them for creditors, and those assets can include the books, records and electronic data; Florida's statutory form (Fla. Stat. section 727.104) says so expressly. The assignee cannot convey greater rights than the company had, so privacy policies and contracts still apply. Your counsel decides what applies.
Is court approval needed in an ABC?
It depends on the state. A Florida assignee gives at least 21 days' notice of a proposed sale outside the ordinary course and may proceed without a further court order unless someone objects, in which case the court holds a hearing (Fla. Stat. section 727.111(4)). Delaware's Uniform Act makes court approval of a sale optional; California's process is nonjudicial. Your counsel decides what applies.
What about customer privacy?
Customer, borrower and patient information requires specific rights and privacy review. Identifying information is removed or replaced under a process you approve before evaluation, training, product use or any other agreed use. Removing names does not guarantee anonymity. Distinctive figures can still identify a business or person.
How does an assignee get the assessment?
Use the fit check on the estates page, or call or email Andrew. We prepare the one-page assessment from the notices, any court filing and public records, at no charge. It is not a valuation and not an offer.
What does FirmLedge charge?
Where a buyer engages FirmLedge to source records, the buyer pays FirmLedge and the estate pays no FirmLedge fee. Each buyer's proposal shows our compensation and who pays before you decide, and extraction, scanning or legal costs are agreed in advance.

Sources

Sources.

  1. Florida Statutes (Florida Senate), Section 727.104, Commencement of proceedings, 2026 text. flsenate.gov
  2. Jimerson Birr, Data Assets in Distressed Estates: Opportunity and Constraints for Assignees and Trustees, April 23, 2026. jimersonfirm.com
  3. Florida Statutes (Florida Senate), Section 727.111, 2026 text. flsenate.gov
  4. Richards, Layton & Finger, Enacted: Uniform Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors Act Signed by Governor Meyer, June 11, 2026. rlf.com
  5. ABA Business Law Today (David S. Kupetz), Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors: Effective Tool for Acquiring and Winding Up Distressed Businesses, November 2015. americanbar.org
  6. Google Workspace Admin Help, Cancel Google Workspace, last updated October 26, 2026. knowledge.workspace.google.com
  7. Microsoft Learn, What happens to my data and access when my Microsoft 365 for business subscription ends?, checked October 30, 2026. learn.microsoft.com
  8. Business Wire (Douglas Wilson Companies), Douglas Wilson Companies to Act as Assignee in the Zulily LLC Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors Transaction, December 22, 2023 (company's own claim). businesswire.com
  9. Retail Dive (Kaarin Moore), Beyond Inc. acquires Zulily brand for $4.5M, March 7, 2024. retaildive.com

Sources checked October 30, 2026. "(company's own claim)" marks a company's statement about itself.

No files first

Start with the assessment.

The fit check takes checkboxes and contact details, and Andrew replies within two business days.

Check whether the records fitFor estates
Call Andrew (312) 291-1954 Email Andrew [email protected]