Business Litigation Legal Questions

I am assuming you two were 50-50 partners in your venture. In which case, both of you are responsible for the profits and losses. You could sue your former business partner for the share of profits owed to you as well as for the money he used for his personal expenses under the theory of breach of contract (although there's no written contract, you two agreed to go into business together) and unjust enrichment because business funds were used for his personal expenses. ... 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

In the United States, in almost all  cases the parties pay their own attorneys' fees, win or lose.  Although this may be unfair in many cases, and I'm sure gives you no comfort, the idea is that no "little guy" will ever dare to sue someone with deep pockets, even if they have a good claim (no claim is a slam dunk) if they know they will have to pay the big guy's legal fees if they lose.   For example, if you were to sue some chemical company for dumping hazardous waste in your backyard, you would be very cautious before you risked losing millions in attorneys fees by suing them. There are some exceptions.  Some contracts provide that, in any suit relating to the contract, the prevailing party will be able to recover its reasonable attorneys fees from the loser.  Some statutes provide that, in any suit for violation of the statute, the prevailing party can collect its legal fees from the loser.  I assume that neither of these situations applies to you. There can also be an exception where someone brings a frivolous claim.  In rare cases a court can sanction the party for its frivolous conduct by ordering it to pay all or some part of the other party's attorneys' fees.  However, the Court did not do so in your action. As a last resort, you may be able to sue for malicous prosecution.  This is a very difficult claim to prove.  Basically, you would have to prove that the other party had no basis whatsoever for its suit, had no motive to due you other than malice, and that you won.  It would be very difficult to win, and you would still  have to pay a lawyer to represent you (if it is you individually that has been damaged, as opposed to your corporation or other legal entity, like an llc, you could do it yourself) which fees you could not recover, so it almost certainly is not worth it. ... Read More

Yes, but that's like asking if it is illegal to do something illegal, because churning, by defintion, is illegal.  The question is whether the investment advisor engaged in churning, the basic defintion of which is that the advisor engages in numerous trades, regardless of whether those trades are in the client's best interests, in order to generate more fees for themselves.... Read More

Absolutely not.  Your dispute is with the broker, not the end user.  You may be able to place a lien on the machine parts, which could be valid up to the amount that the end user owes the broker, if anything, but certainly not to reposess them.  Even if the broker still had the parts, resorting to "self help", in the form of taking property from someone else without any court order or oversight, is fraught with danger, both physical and legal.  Most courts frown  upon it, especially if there is a risk of a breach of the peace when you try to take the property.  If you think the end user could pressure the broker into paying you, you may want to considersimply writing a letter, or starting a lawsuit and seeking discovery from the end user.... Read More

Leaving aside what causes of action you may have (from what you've written it doesn't seem like copyright infringement to me, but that doesn't mean that you may not have a claim based on the misappropriation of your business idea), the statute of limitations should run from when the wrong was committed, i.e. when your idea was stolen (or possibly when you knew or should have known about your idea having been stolen), not from when you created your idea.  Your claim, depending on what the facts turn out to be, may not be very strong, but if the company using your ideas just recently started doing so, you should not have a limitations problem.... Read More

Depending on the nature of the claim, the case would turn on notice of a violent act.  If the police grid for the area shows a high likelihood or past history of gun violence, then the owner of the hotel would have to take suitable precautions against such problems.  However, your question said that the individual got shot near the hotel.  So the question is how near.  A property owner has obligations to take protection with regard to his or her property so I need to know how close to the property the incident occurred.... Read More

Yes, I am not aware of any jurisdiction in which automobile insurance information is protected from disclosure.  You can refuse to provide it, but then they can fire you.  The company obviously has an interest in confirming that you have auto insurance, since if you get into an accident while performing services for the company, it may be liable.... Read More

Assuming that your son is under 18, and assuming that you did not also sign the contract, we can return the car to the dealership and they will be required to take it.  This is called disaffirming a contract, and it is allowed at least up to age 18.  Likewise, the bank will have to take their money back and cancel the loan.  Good luck.... Read More