(This story, in slightly different form, originally appeared in ALM's Daily Business Review.)

WEST PALM BEACH, FL-Andrew Scott, the owner of a security consulting company in Boca Raton, knew it was a long shot when he decided to go after $8,400 he says he was owed by the developer of a local office building. The project, Courthouse Commons, was facing a $30-million foreclosure suit filed by Great Florida Bank, and Scott would also have to compete with more than 20 other creditors of the developer.

Scott joined forces with two other unsecured creditors and forced developer Courthouse Commons LLC into involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The three creditors were owed about $27,000.

As the real estate market struggles and more foreclosures loom, owners of distressed properties are increasingly being threatened by secured and unsecured creditors with involuntary bankruptcy. While it can be a good strategy for creditors desperate to recover some money, it also poses risks and can backfire on creditors, says Craig Kelley, the attorney for three creditors that pursued Courthouse Commons.

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