Business Litigation Legal Questions

Do you have a contract (which could be either individual or from collective bargaining, and could come about from an employee manual) which limits your employer's right to fire you?  Do you believe that you are being discriminated against based on some statutorily prohibited reason, such as race, religion, or gender?  If not, your employer can fire you for any reason at any time.... Read More

The Judge CAN force you to do almost anything, but that doesn't mean that he/she will.  If the photographs would be relevant to any issue in the litigation, however, it is likely that the architect will have the right to photograph them during the discovery process (although, if it is important to you, the Court may restrict the architect's right to use the photos to anything other than the litigation.)   I'm assuming, by the way, that you're talking about photos of the inside of the store.  Anyone can photograph the outside of the store which is open to public view.... Read More

In short, the answer to your question is yes.  Requesting arbitration would challenge the jurisdiction of the present forum.  If a party fails to challenge jurisdiction upon the first substantive response to a complaint the opposing party would likely claim you have waived your right to request arbitration.  All of this is depenedent upon whether the contract at issue calls for arbitration. ... Read More

Assuming that your contract with your accountant does not contain any limitations on where or how you can sue (i.e. an arbitration clause, or one requiring any suit to be brought in New York) you would sue in whichever place is more convenient for you, which I assume would be Pennsylvania (since the suit arises from services the accountant performed for a Pennsylvania business, I don't think there will be any problem with a Pennsylvania court asserting jurisdiction over her.)   Incidentally, embezzlement is a crime, not a civil cause of action.  Depending on the exact facts, you would be suing your accountant for conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and malpractice.... Read More

It depends on whether the landlord owned the cooler or the beverage company.  Each is claiming ownership, and you have no way of determining who is right.  If the landlord is right, he didn't defraud you, the beverage company did, and vice versa.  If there was a lot of money involved, you could sue them both and let a court sort it out, but it probably is not worth it in this case.  You should ask your landlord for proof that he owned the cooler.  If he doesn't provide it, you can refuse to pay, and the landlord may then sue you, or you can pay, on the basis that you're going to have to deal with the landlord going forward, and it isn't worth getting into a big fight over this.... Read More

There is a deadline.  I'm not sure what it is in Massachusetts, but it is unlikely to be more than 11 months, so you are probably too late.  You should call the clerk of the appellate court to check.  If you waited too long, it is possible that the Court may allow you to file late since it will already be hearing 2 appeals from the same case already, but I think it's a long shot.  The Court may or may not entertain oral argument beyond the briefs, but there should not be any new hearing or presentation of evidence.  An appeal considers only legal arguments that, based on what was before the lower court, it made an error of law.... 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

Assuming you have no non-compete provision in your employment contract with your former employer, it depends on whether the customer list is considered a trade secret or not.  Some customer lists are considered trade secrets, and some not.  It depends on factors such as whether the information was publicly available, the time, effort, and money expended by your former employer to put the list together, how extensive the list is (i.e. is it just name and number, or also contact person, preferences, ordering history, etc.), what efforts your former made to try to keep it secret, etc.  You are not allowed to misappropriate someone else's trade secret for you own use.  You also can't work for your own business on your employer's time; from what you've written you didn't do that, you downloaded the list for your employer's purposes and only decided to use it later, after you left.  But that may not be the way it looks to a neutral third party. I do think it is unusual for the police to be involved; the type of circumstances you describe are much more often the subject of a civil suit, in which you could be enjoined from using the list, and also have to disgorge any profits you made from the list.  Again, the key question is whether the list qualifies as a trade secret, which can't properly  be evaluated without a lot more facts. With all due respect, I think you were naive to think that your former employer would not challenge you because of the small size of your business.  If the customer list is a trade secret, it will only remain so if your former employer takes reasonably steps to protect it from use and disclosure by someone else.  If you allow someone to use your trade secret for free, you may waive trade secret protection.  Also, regardless of your small size, your former employer wants to send a message so that nobody else tries to do what you did.... Read More

She needs to consult with a litigation attorney… probably would find it helpful to have a business litigation attorney… and do so quickly.  Sounds like the individual that fell may have lost the chance at suing the company if she has already brought the same action and just didn’t include them.  That said, there are a lot of things that could have happened in that first case that could make you say they “lost.”  So, assuming that the individual could have a suit against the business – to answer your question regarding personal assets, if the suit is against the business, then the personal assets should be safe.  Since the business is an S-Corp, presumably, she filed the paperwork properly and put in the proper safeguards (like not-comingling funds and assets) that it would be difficult to “pierce the corporate veil.”  With the lawsuit filed, it’s time to get into a lawyer’s office to defend or get the case dismissed.  This is not something to do on her own.  Litigation is complicated and the consequences of missing a deadline or filing improperly, etc. can be devastating.  ... Read More

If they will not pay you, a well-worded demand letter from a lawyer might do the trick, but if not, you should be prepared to file suit.  Depending on the amount owed, it could be filed in the General District Court, if it is $25,000 or less.  If they owe you more than this, it will have to be filed in the Circuit Court.  Once you obtain a judgment against them, it becomes a collections issue, which can be accomplished through garnishing bank accounts and seizing business assets, among other things. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.... Read More