New York Litigation Legal Questions

Let's start with the easiest first.  If the contract was with the business (which I will assume was a corporation, llc, or other independent entity), the individual employees and shareholders of that business entity generally have no personal liability under the contract.  You can sue the business entity (although you say that the business was dissolved, nothing in the rest of your question supports that conclusion; just because a corporation goes out of business, doesn't mean that it no longer exists, any more than the fact that a person goes out of business means that the person is dead), but it will be difficult to collect from it even if you are awarded a judgment (which, based on the facts you've stated, you should be.)  However, if you get a judgment against the business entity, you may be able to collect, even if the corporation has no assets left, by tracing the corporation's transfers.  For example, let's say the corporation sold all of its remaining assets and distributed the proceeds to its shareholders, rather than paying creditors.  That would be a fraudulent conveyance, and, to the extent that the corporation owed you money, you can recover that money from the shareholder/recipients.  If the corporation had no assets, however, and didn't make any improper distributions, you will probably never collect on your judgment. One other factor you should consider is whether the business entity had any other creditors which had priority over you.  If so, it may be pointless for you to sue the entity, especially if those other creditors held security interests in the business entity's assets. The above refers to money damages.  With regard to gaining possession of the equipment, presumably the equipment lease provides for repossession of the printer/computer in the event of a default, and you should be able to enforce that provision in court to gain possession of it.  Hopefully, you have also recorded a UCC security interest in the printer/computer to put the world on notice of your interest in it, so that your rights would take precedence over anyone who bought the equipment from the lessee.  ... Read More

It depends on the stage of the proceedings. You use the term "inherited" which would indicate that the property has passed from the estate into his own name. If that is the case, he owns it and that's that. But, some people use the term "inherited" to mean that the heir is due to inherit property. If that is the case, then the sister will have to contest the will, if there is one.... Read More

Since you are trying to do business in different states, I would assume that you need to meet each state's regulations. If you were offering just to sell an item and have no follow up with the customer, you might be able to be just regulated by your state's laws. As a practical matter, since your name probably will not appear anywhere on the forms, if any, given to the state government, how are they going to find out about you unless several clients complain?... Read More

First of all, there is a mistake somewhere either in your understanding of the situation or the way you are descrbing it. Mother could not execute a POA on behalf of her son, you can only execute a POA on your own behalf, not on the part of someone else. Someone could be appointed as a Guardian under the mental health law, even temporarily, and that trumps the POA.... Read More

If the insurance company alleges that you were party to a fraud, it will complicate matters. Nevertheless, you should be able to get paid reasonable value of the work you performed. Since the insurance already stopped talking to your lay representative, the need to involve an attorney seems to be rather clear in this case, so it is only a question of how much time you are willing to lose before getting the case handled professionally.... Read More

The stop was legal and he had the right to search your vehicle if he truly smelled pot. You should not have consented to a search as for all you know there might have been something illegal in your car. He is well within his rights to tell you that you almost caused an accident. Be more careful in the future and do not admit to anything or consent to any searches.... Read More