Texas Business Legal Questions

As a general matter, the promisor (you) is liable to the promisee (employer) for the damages caused by his failure to perform as agreed. Those damages would generally be the cost of replacing your services by hiring someone else. If you were paid for the work, you can be required to refund what you were paid and to pay the difference caused by having to "cover" the work with the services of another.... Read More

As a general matter, an employer has no right to compel an employee to apply for disability benefits. However, an employer may usually terminate the employment of an employee for any reason or no reason at all. If you have further questions about your situation, you should seek the advice of an individual attorney.... Read More

Your question doesn't make any sense. As a general matter, a party is bound by a contract if he or she indicates by words or deeds that he or she intends to be bound. The possibility that the contract has an "unchristian" objective is not generally a ground for avoiding it if it is lawful under civil law.... Read More

With limited exceptions probably inapplicable to the purchase of a small business, you are not obligated to employ any employee of the seller. You do not indicate whether you are purchasing stock or assets. If the former, then the employee will be an employee of an entity you own, and if you fire him, you will likely have an unemployment comp "hit" as a result. Ususally, parties negotiate for the employment of the seller's employees (or not) and make express provision for this in their contract. Your attorney can assist you in making sure the issue is covered. You should not contact the seller's employees without the seller's consent until after closing. You can, of course, with the seller's consent, interview the employees for due-diligence purposes prior to closing.... Read More

Your bank's availability schedule must be at least as favorable to you as the one required by federal law. As a general matter, funds from a check drawn by the U.S. Treasury must be available in not more than two business days. That schedule would apparently still have caused the check drawn on your account to bounce. Your initial question is somewhat confusing because of its reference to "ACH," which is not a "check.... Read More

The answer is "maybe." Certain states protect the names of dead persons from commercial use by third parties. The fact that the dead person has no "known" relatives does not mean that he has no relatives who may appear later and initiate litigation with you. You should consult with an attorney about this.... Read More

The answer depends on the terms of your engagement letter. Normally, when a lawyer accepts a case on a flat-fee basis, and prepares to do all of the work that would be necessary to try the case, he is entitled to retain the agreed-upon fee, even if the client elects to settle. Read your agreement.... Read More

The facts of your situation are not entirely clear, but it appears that a private entity refuses to deal with you. You have not articulated any legal theory for why they must deal with you. While it is regrettable that you have lost clients, you have not suggested any facts that require a different result.... Read More

Under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, when you endorse (the UCC uses the term "indorse") a check payable to you to a third party (such as, in this case, the check casher), you guaranty that the check will be paid. If the check is return for insufficient funds, you are liable to the check casher, which is deemed a "holder in due course," for the amount of the funds you received. This indorser guaranty is the essence of why checks pass freely in our banking system. The guaranty of collection is only one of the implied guaranties you give with an indorsement. After the first check bounces, if you return to the check casher with a check from another employer and cash it, the check casher may apply the proceeds to your previous debt to it. This is a common-law right of offset. The duty to collect from your former employer is yours. They paid you with the insufficient-funds check. The check casher relied on your implied warranty (which you made by indorsing the check) that the check would be "good," and you breached that warranty when the check bounced.... Read More

It doesn't sound as if there is much left to be done by you, except find another job. As a general matter, an unemployment appeal does not involve a re-hearing of the disputed facts -- in other words, the appellate tribunal makes its determination on the basis of the facts as found by the original hearing panel. ... Read More

As a general matter, a creditor is privileged to adjust its charges for credit based on the riskiness it perceives in its extension of credit. When the proposed debtor (or, in your case, lessee) refuses to provide standard credit information, a rational creditor understands that its risk of dealing with that person has increased. No law specifically prohibits this conduct.... Read More

The answer is "it depends." The purpose of trademark law is to avoid consumer confusion regarding the origin or sponsorship of goods. It could be argued that no reasonable consumer could be confused into believing that the Coca Cola Co. endorses or sponsors these gum machines. Is it a good idea? No, it's not.... Read More