Michigan Business Legal Questions

The owner of the clothing line, whether that be you individually or the llc, can sue for any copyright or trademark infringement.  You can have common law trademark rights, and remedies, even without registration, but you don't mention anything in your email which would be considered a trademark (unless you use the design as a mark designating your line, a la burberry).  While you can have common law copyright rights in any design which is sufficiently original, just by creating it, you can't sue for copyright infringement until you have registered that copyright.  Moreover, while you can register after the fact (i.e. don't register the copyright until you want to sue for infringement), your remedies will be significantly curtailed if you don't register the copyright within 3 months of its creation.  You do not need either a registered trademark or registered copyright to sell goods. ... Read More

It is perfectly lawful for an employer to pay his employees in cash. You have no legal right to insist on being paid a raise or given breaks. Unless you have uncompensated overtime, it may be difficult or impossible to demonstrate that you are entitled to any additional compensation not already paid to you. It is unclear why you have not received any tax documents or how you have been harmed as a result.... Read More

In the absence of an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, employment in the United States is on an "at will" basis. That means that your employer may terminate you at any time for any reason or no reason at all. You should bear in mind that, while you think you have caught someone doing something wrong, there will no doubt be another side to that argument. Employees who make trouble are troublesome and get fired. Decide what you want -- to be right or to be employed.... Read More

There is not much the legal system can do cost-effectively to help you. You may be able to persuade him to rescind the transaction. Other than that, for the relatively small dollar value of the items in question, it's not likely that you can solve this problem unless you are willing to go to small claims court.... Read More

Everything depends on the intentions of the parties, which can only be discerned from context. If the bow was intended as an unconditional gift, then the gift to you was complete upon on delivery of the bow to you. But if the bow was intended as an inducement to trade the truck, then the failure of the truck trade means the gift is incomplete.  ... Read More

As a general matter, criminal penalties in financial fraud cases depend, among other things, on the dollar amount of the wrongful benefit that the defendant received. If the financial benefit to the defendants was immaterial and they have no prior offenses, they may be looking at a non-incarcerative sentence. However, these kinds of defendants are usually caught because the particular act in which they were engaged was part of a larger plan. It's really impossible to say from the skimpy facts you have provided.... Read More

This sounds like a fairly common scam. You need to consult with your own attorney regarding this matter. It is possible that a very remote relative has died and left you as a "laughing heir" (the term we are taught in law school), which means that only remote relatives survive him. You don't know about it, so an unscrupulous finder will "sell" you the identity of your deceased relative. In some variant of this scheme, you are asked for cash up front. Tread very carefully.... Read More