> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.baselayer.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Litigation & Bankruptcy Search for Individuals

> How to search litigation and bankruptcy records for sole proprietors, business officers, guarantors, and beneficial owners using Baselayer.

This guide covers how to search litigation and bankruptcy records for individuals in Baselayer: sole proprietors, business officers, personal guarantors, beneficial owners or simply independent individuals.

Before reading this guide, review:

* [Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: Basics](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-basics): how docket searches work and the complete response field reference
* [Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: API Quickstart](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-api-quickstart): implementation patterns for business docket searches
* [Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: Best Practices](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-best-practices): risk classification and decisioning frameworks

***

## 1. Why Search Individuals

For many business types and lending products, searching only the business entity is insufficient. Individual docket searches are warranted when the personal legal and financial history of an owner, officer, or guarantor is material to the credit decision.

**When individual docket searches add signal:**

**Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs** There is no meaningful legal separation between the individual and the business. A sole proprietor's personal bankruptcy, judgment, or pattern of litigation is as material as the same signals at the business level.

**Personal guarantors** When an officer or owner is guaranteeing a loan personally, their litigation and bankruptcy history directly affects the value of that guarantee. A guarantor with an active Chapter 13 or multiple open judgments significantly changes the risk picture.

**Beneficial owners** For higher-risk programs, larger ticket sizes, or regulated financial institutions, extending litigation coverage to beneficial owners provides a more complete view of the legal exposure attached to the people behind the business.

**Business officers for closely-held companies** In small businesses where one or two individuals control all assets and operations, officer-level legal history can surface risks not visible at the entity level.

***

## 2. Three Ways to Search Individual Dockets

***

### Option A: `additional_search_entities` in a Business Docket Search

The `BusinessSearch` request variant for `POST /docket_searches` supports an `additional_search_entities` array, allowing you to search for individuals alongside the primary business in a single API call.

```bash theme={null}
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.baselayer.com/docket_searches \
  --header 'X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "business_search_id": "1504f313-9721-4006-b813-82faf6c6f02d",
    "additional_search_entities": [
      {
        "name": "Jane Smith",
        "type": "Person",
        "search_states": ["DE"]
      },
      {
        "name": "Robert Johnson",
        "type": "Person",
        "search_states": ["FL"]
      }
    ]
  }'
```

This is the recommended approach when running a business docket search and wanting to include officer or guarantor coverage simultaneously - no separate API calls required.

***

### Option B: Direct Docket Search Using a `person_id`

If you already have a `person_id` from a previous Baselayer person record, run a docket search directly against that individual.

```bash theme={null}
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.baselayer.com/docket_searches \
  --header 'X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "person_id": "f9458925-bea9-4551-9913-31c21658d3d7"
  }'
```

This approach is useful for standalone individual searches: for example, periodic re-screening of a guarantor, or when the individual is the primary subject of the inquiry.

***

### Option C: Person Search with Litigation Option

If you do not yet have a `person_id`, initiate a person search with litigation data included in the response in a single `POST /person_searches` request. This creates a person record and runs the docket search simultaneously.

***

## 3. Interpreting Individual Docket Results

The response structure and field definitions are identical to business docket searches. The same `risk_level` logic, `normalized_status`, `match_level`, and `is_bankruptcy` fields all apply. Refer to [Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: Basics](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-basics) for the complete field reference.

**Key differences when evaluating individual dockets:**

**Bankruptcy carries even more weight for individuals** A personal bankruptcy for a sole proprietor is directly equivalent to a business bankruptcy.

**Judgment patterns signal personal financial stress** Multiple open judgments against an individual indicate a pattern of unpaid obligations.

**`match_level` is especially important for individuals** Common personal names generate more false positives than business names. Applying `EXACT` match level filtering is particularly valuable for individual searches to avoid surfacing unrelated individuals' cases in automated workflows.

***

## 4. Recommended Workflow

The following pattern covers the common lending use case — a business with a personal guarantor:

```python theme={null}
import requests
from datetime import date, timedelta

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
BASE_URL = "https://api.baselayer.com"
headers = {"X-API-Key": API_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json"}

# Single call: search business + guarantor simultaneously
payload = {
    "business_search_id": "1504f313-9721-4006-b813-82faf6c6f02d",
    "additional_search_entities": [
        {
            "name": "Jane Smith",
            "type": "Person",
            "search_states": ["DE"]
        }
    ]
}

response = requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/docket_searches", json=payload, headers=headers)
result = response.json()

high_risk = []
cutoff = str(date.today() - timedelta(days=365 * 5))

for docket in result.get("dockets", []):
    if docket.get("match_level") != "EXACT":
        continue

    is_bankruptcy = docket.get("is_bankruptcy")
    risk_level = docket.get("risk_level")
    date_filed = docket.get("date_filed", "")

    if is_bankruptcy or risk_level == "high":
        entity = docket.get("search_entity_name", "Unknown")
        entity_type = docket.get("search_entity_type", "")
        high_risk.append(
            f"[{entity_type}: {entity}] {docket['case_type']} — "
            f"{docket['court']} (filed {date_filed})"
        )

if high_risk:
    print("HIGH RISK — escalate to underwriting:")
    for r in high_risk:
        print(f"  - {r}")
else:
    print("No high-risk docket signals detected.")
```

***

## 5. Where to Go Next

* **[Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: Best Practices](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-best-practices)** — Full risk classification framework and `additional_search_entities` guidance
* **[Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: API Quickstart](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-api-quickstart)** — Complete implementation guide with all request variants
* **[Litigation & Bankruptcy Search: Basics](/docs/litigation-bankruptcy-search-basics)** — Response field reference including `risk_level`, `normalized_status`, and `match_level`
* **[Litigation, Bankruptcy, and Public Records](/docs/litigation-and-bankruptcy-records)** — Background on court types, bankruptcy chapters, and key terminology


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