Business Legal Questions

I presume the seller financed the transaction either with a note or an installment agreement.  Missing one payment should not result in you losing the business and everything you've paid to date.  You can probably stop the seller from taking that action.  You should retain counsel asap so that person can review your contract, get the details of your situation and create a gameplan to help you keep the business.... Read More

No, they cannot.  Employers are under tight restrictions concering deductions from wages due to employees.  If a driver is particularly forgetful, the employer needs to train or terminate non-performing drivers or find some other means of discipline.  Deducting amounts from wages is not a lawful option available to employers. ... Read More

Unfortunately, if you are a general partnership, any partner can create unlimited liability for the partnership.  You will want to terminate the partnership and divide the business up equally, or one of you buy out the other.  As far as a lawsuit, there are a number of causes of action that you can take.  Contact an attorney for a full consultation.... Read More

Did you have a written purchase agreement?  if so, did it list the assets you were purchasing?  If so, the agreement serves as the legal basis for you to demand delivery of the assets.  if the seller will not do that, then you'll have to weigh the cost of litigation vs. the value of the assets to determine your next steps. ... Read More

Are you the owner of the interest in the llc, or are you and your wife jointly the owners?  Unless otherwise agreed in advance, someone now owns an interest in the llc; an operating agreement is not necessary for this to occur, and if there is no operating agreemtn, the terms will generally be set by state statute.  If you own the interest jointly with your wife, your wife's consent is required for the operating agreement to be valid, but the issue gets complicated if you indicated to the other llc members that you were acting for both your wife and yourself when you invested.  You may then have what is known as "apparent authority" to act for her vis a vis the other members, and your agreement may be binding on both of you, although your wife may be able to sue you for any damages she suffers due to your acting for her without her authorization to do so.  As I said, complicated, and there could be other issues as well.... Read More

these questions are too broad for a Q and A forum like this.  You acquire a liquor license from an existing owner.  You do not apply for issueance of one from the state.  The state must approve the transfer of the license from the existing owner to you.  The length of the process depends on the type of license and underlying issues involved.  You must own or have a lease for a location where the license will be used.  Typcially when parties on both sides have everything in order, the process takes 90-120 days.  The cost depends on how much the seller is willing to take for the license.  prices vary widely throughout the state.  For the City of Pittsburgh, a R license is going to run b/t $60,000 to $75,000 plus attorneys fees and costs of transfer which you should expect to be arond $5,00-$6,500.... Read More

You can contract with the LLC for it to assume the contract, but that would only affect your rights vis a vis the LLC.  In other words, you could sue the LLC if the other party sued you, but given that you would own the LLC, that doesn't mean much.  You can't impair the rights of  the other contracting party (to hold you personally responsible for the contract) without that party's consent.... Read More

No.  It depends on what papers you are signing.  For example, you could be guarantying the business's (I assume that the business is a separate entity, e.g. a corporation or llc) liability under its lease, which would only make you a guarantor, not an owner.  You could be consenting to your husbanc's use of marital property (like your house) to secure financing for the business.  You could be agreeing to act as an officer or director of the business corporation, which would not make you an owner.  There are many documents which someone who doesn't own a business could sign to benefit the business.... Read More

The primary reason to form the LLC at this point would be risk mitigation.  If you mess something up in doing your work, can it cause financial loss?  Even if there is some risk, I've yet to encounter a case filed by the "client" in your case suing the 1099 person for the damages.  They'd sue the consulting company I think.  You can probably protect yourself by making sure the consulting company has insurance that protects you in the event of such a suit.  If you are going to be working as an IC long term, then a LLC may have some tax advantages over the long term that make it worth discussing. ... Read More