Receiver, ABC assignee or Chapter 7 trustee: who has authority to license company data?

The short answer: whoever controls the assets signs

Authority to license a distressed company's records sits with whoever controls its assets after a proceeding begins, and each fiduciary takes that control from a different document. A receiver acts under the court order that appointed them, an ABC assignee under the assignment and state law, and a Chapter 7 trustee under the Bankruptcy Code, which requires notice and a hearing before estate property is used, sold or leased outside the ordinary course of business.

The consequence for anyone making an introduction: once a fiduciary is in place, the former owner or CEO generally cannot grant a data license alone. The precise answer turns on the order, the assignment and the court's practice, so read what follows as a map of what to check, not a ruling.

Where does each fiduciary's authority come from?

From three different instruments: a court order, a private assignment governed by state law, and a federal statute. That source sets both the limits and the approvals.

Receiver: the appointment order

A receiver is an officer of the court, appointed by a state or federal judge to take control of specified property, often on a lender's or regulator's motion. There is no single national receivership code; state statutes, local practice and above all the order's wording decide what the receiver may do.

Scope comes first. A general receiver over an operating company may hold broad powers to run and sell it; a limited receiver over named collateral may have no claim to the email archive or CRM. Read the order's provisions on asset scope, sale authority and required court approvals line by line.

ABC assignee: the assignment and state law

In an assignment for the benefit of creditors, the company (the assignor) transfers its assets to an assignee, who holds them in trust, liquidates them and distributes the proceeds to creditors, as the open textbook The Law of Commercial Transactions explains. The same text lists receivership as another non-bankruptcy route.

The assignor's officers therefore no longer control those assets, and procedures vary by state. Florida Statutes chapter 727 is one statutory example: it sets out a uniform procedure for administering insolvent estates, aims to keep creditors informed, places proceedings under circuit court supervision and closes with the assignee's final report and discharge. Because state procedures differ, ask the assignee's counsel which statute governs.

Chapter 7 trustee: the Bankruptcy Code

In a Chapter 7 liquidation, a trustee administers the estate's property, and 11 U.S.C. section 363 governs how the trustee uses, sells or leases it. Under section 363(b)(1), anything outside the ordinary course needs notice and a hearing. The same subsection adds a privacy limit: if the company's privacy policy, in effect when the case began, prohibited transferring personally identifiable information to unaffiliated persons, the trustee may sell or lease that information only in line with the policy or with court approval after a consumer privacy ombudsman is appointed, notice and a hearing. Under section 332, the court orders the United States trustee to appoint one disinterested person as ombudsman no later than 7 days before that hearing.

Chapter 11 differs: per the federal judiciary's Chapter 11 bankruptcy basics, the debtor ordinarily keeps possession and control of its assets as debtor in possession, so management signs for the estate, with court approval where the Code requires it. When someone says a company is in bankruptcy, ask which chapter first.

How do receivers, assignees and trustees compare side by side?

Treat each cell as a starting point for counsel, not a rule for every state or court.

How does this apply in common partner situations?

Identify which pattern you are in before the first call.

Who owns the records is a separate question from who signs; see why data rights determine what a company can license.

Which red flags stop an introduction?

One situation stops SourceX outright: a court, trustee or assignee controls the assets but has not been involved. A license signed by someone without control over the records invites a challenge, so bring the fiduciary in at the start rather than work around them. Also watch for:

• Archives deleted, or subscriptions cancelled without an export.
• Nobody left who can run an export, for example because IT staff have gone and admin credentials are lost.
• Records that mainly belong to the company's clients, as at agencies and outsourcers, with no consent to license.
• Mostly consumer personal data with no licensing basis, or protected health information without HIPAA authorization or de-identification.
• Data already licensed for AI training.

Personal data draws real scrutiny. In 23andMe's 2025 bankruptcy, the consumer privacy ombudsman recommended that any transfer of customers' genetic or personally identifiable data be barred without renewed opt-in consent, as The Record reported.

Checklist before you introduce a fiduciary

• Name the proceeding: receivership, ABC, Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or none.
• Get the fiduciary's name and counsel from the order, the docket or the assignee's notice to creditors.
• Confirm the company had 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded) and several years of documented operations; a company that has since shrunk can still meet the baseline.
• Ask whether email, Slack or Teams, CRM, finance, support and engineering systems still exist, and who holds admin access.
• Ask whether a privacy policy, client contract or lender's lien limits what can be licensed.
• Run a preliminary, non-binding screen with the company fit checker.
• Tell the fiduciary in writing that you are a SourceX referral partner before the first meeting.
• Leave every record where it is: partners never export, copy or describe confidential material.

How does the introduction run with a fiduciary in charge?

The steps match any SourceX introduction, with court timing layered on top.

1. You introduce the receiver, assignee or trustee, or their counsel, through your referral link or the referral form. The former owner can join the call but does not sign.
2. SourceX qualifies the company on size, history, data breadth and rights, with the fiduciary acting as the authorized representative.
3. The fiduciary completes a data inventory with whoever still holds admin access: systems, years of history, what can be exported.
4. The fiduciary and SourceX agree one all-in price and the licensing terms. Nothing is binding until the fiduciary signs.
5. AI labs and data buyers review the opportunity; once a company is deal-ready, buyers typically respond within about two weeks.
6. The fiduciary obtains any court approval required, then signs. Records are prepared under redaction rules agreed in advance and delivered with the fiduciary's authorization; the estate receives one all-in, one-time payment, typically within about 60 days of invoicing once the buyer selects the data.
7. Your reward is paid after SourceX receives its fee.

Plan around hearing dates and the date the fiduciary wants to close the estate. A single payment suits an estate that has to wind up and distribute; one-time payment vs royalties sets out the trade-off. Deals are typically exclusive for AI training for an agreed term, which can affect whether a fiduciary treats the license as routine; see exclusive vs non-exclusive data licenses.

How should partners handle disclosure and consent?

Disclose early and in writing; the fiduciary may need to explain every connection to the court or to creditors.

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; an introduction, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee, so it never reduces what the estate receives.

If you are the fiduciary, or a CRO, financial adviser or counsel retained by the estate, do not assume you may accept any payment tied to an estate asset. You owe duties to the estate and its creditors, and the court, the assignment or your professional rules may govern that question. Settle it with counsel before you register.

What should you ask counsel before anyone signs?

• Does this license need court approval, and on what notice?
• Are the records and their systems inside the estate, or were they sold, abandoned or never transferred?
• Does a secured lender claim the records or the proceeds, and must it consent?
• Did a privacy policy in effect at filing or at the assignment restrict transfers of personal information?
• Do client contracts, employee notices or vendor terms restrict use of the records?
• If I am connected to the estate, may I accept a referral reward, and what must I disclose?

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

Next step

If you work alongside a receiver, assignee or trustee holding the records of a US company that had 50+ full-time employees at peak, compare it with who qualifies, then register as a partner and introduce the fiduciary directly. The fiduciary can also apply at sourcex.si/apply through your referral link.