California Business Litigation Legal Questions

Your first step should be to try to work this out with the auto repair shop.  Your second step should be to complaint to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair.  Your next step should be to have an attorney draft a demand letter.  Your final step should be to sue the repair shop.... Read More

Is this litigation in small claims court or superior court?  You can check the court's website to see what response was filed.  A response to your complaint can be a demurrer, a motion to quash, an answer, etc.  You should be served with the response, but you can get a copy from the clerk's office or online. What you do next depends on so many factors that it's impossible to give you an answer here.  Your best move would probably be to hire an attorney.... Read More

Or it could be the carrier you had at the time the claim was asserted.  It depends on the language of each of the policies.  For example, a policy can cover claims made during the coverage period, or claims which accrue during the coverage period.  Depending on the language of the policy, there may be coverage under both policies, or neither.  The practical answer is always the same, however - SEND THE COMPLAINT TO ALL CARRIERS AND MAKE A CLAIM UNDER ALL POSSIBLE POLICIES.... Read More

If the original notice of deposition was properly served on your former attorney when you were still represented than you would have to attend. I would not take the risk of not showing up at the deposition as your failure to show could result in sanctions. If the date is not a good date for you you should all opposing counsel and see if they will agree to a mutually convenient date. Good luck, Jon... Read More

Hi Lisa,   I am a little bit confused about your situation, but it sounds like you maybe have two issues. One is that you have an outstanding loan that is not being paid. You would almost certainly have a claim to file a lawsuit and recover the amounts that are due on the loan.  I don't totally understand the SEO issue since you no longer own the company that is impacted. I would need further explanation before I get back to you on that. Presumably you are alleging that they have manipulated the the search process so that yoru company is basically buried? Let me know if you would like assistance. Thanks,Jon... Read More

I don't see the tort, all I see is a breach of contract.  Nevertheless, I think it likely that the California court would have jurisdiction over the defendant, as he negotiated the contract over the phone (I assume) with someone he knew to be in California, discussed the problem with you in Californa, and more important, twice shipped the engine to California.  However, you won't know for sure until you file suit in California and the defendant, if he chooses, moves to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. One caveat.  While I'm pretty confident that it would be constitutionally permissible for the California courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant, this case sounds like it may be litigated in small claims court.  Many small claims courts have limited jurisdiction, much less than is constitutionally allowed.  If you're going to file in small claims court, you should ask the clerk of the court if you can sue a resident of another state in that court.... Read More

It is true that you need to prove damages; however, it seems the seller's material misrepresentations have compromised your receiving the full benefits that you negotiated under the purchase contest. Had you known of the violations, you likely would have paid less or not purchased at all. Also, every day that you are operating out of compliance subjects you to potential damage or injury. I would be happy to discuss your case in detail. Mitch Abdallah, Esq. (916) 446-1974... Read More

I assume you mean a check made out TO the decedent; there is no legal reason you can't cash a check FROM a deceased person (although you may run into practical difficulties, such as the account being frozen).  However, you can't cash a check made out to the deceased person, as it is an asset belonging to the estate.  Only the person or persons appointed by the Court as administrator/administratrix (if no will) or executor/executrix (if there is a will) of the estate can cash the check, the proceeds of which become part of the estate and distributed along with all other assets of the estate. ... Read More

First, if the lease was for two years, you can't terminate for two years unless the landlord materially breaches the lease, or the lease provides conditions on which you can terminate.  Second, there is no reason why emails can't create a binding contract, but without seeing all the emails (and maybe not even then) I couldn't tell you for sure whether they did in this case or did not - it is quite possible that the situation is not that clear, and may need a court to resolve.  Assuming you had a binding contract to pay 6 month's rent and your security deposit in full settlement of all your obligations under the lease, that is all you are obligated to pay; if however you never reached a binding agreement on those terms, your obligations under the original 2 year lease continue.... Read More

You can sell your share fairly easily.  However, for me to explain this in a one page letter would not serve your interests very well.  Generally, through the use of certain legal documents you can effectuate a valid sale of your shares.  To protect your self from future liability you must give notice to all interested parties as well as the secretary of state.  Further, yes you can situate a deal whereby default of payment will give you right to repossess the business with out further liability to the purchaser.  However, this will require very well written legal documents in which must be signed by the purchaser.  I'm a very good business lawyer.  I would love to help you with this matter.  I promise to give you the best price because I find this very interesting and enjoy doing this type of work. If you like, I invite you to call me today so I can help you. Best Regards, Codi M. Dada, Attorney at Law 415-827-1425    ... Read More

If the claim was brought against the wrong individual or entity, for example, if the plaintiff is suing for breach of contract she had with your corporation rather than with you individually, it should be dismissed.  However, if she is suing for a tort, for example fraud, there could be individual liability.  Moreover, just because you have a corporation doesn't mean that the plaintiff's contract was with it.  Did the customer have any reason to know about the corporation, for example a written contract in the corporation's name?  If all that happened is that the customer ordered goods or services from a website, or spoke to someone who didn't disclose the corporate name using contact info from a website which also didn't disclose the corporation, there may very well be a contract between the plaintiff and you.... Read More

Absolutely not. The consent of all parties is required in California. Unless you put them on notice that you are in fact recording the call and, after such notice, they voluntarily continue in the call, you will be violating Penal Code Section 632(a). This is a crime punishable by jail and fine.... Read More

I routinely defend and settle these cases for a large retail client in California. The problem is that California has a state law that is far more plaintiff-friendly than the federal ADA, and there are virtually no defenses. Nearly all of these cases are settled because the cost of settling with a single plaintiff is modest compared to the costs of engaging an attorney and attempting to defend on the merits. Most of them are settled for payment of under $5,000, including attorneys' fees to the plaintiff's lawyer. You can't do much better than that even if you defend the case and win.... Read More

As a general matter, you cannot be sued in a remote state unless you have certain Constitutionally required "minimum contacts" there. As a general matter, those contacts can be pretty minimal in order to satisfy the requirements of the Constitution. Some courts have held that a single phone call into the remote state will suffice. You should consider filing a motion to dismiss the Wisconsin action on the grounds that personal jurisdiction is absent.... Read More