Alabama Business Legal Questions

You are not automatically responsible, but if (a) you contracted with your client to forward their mail and didn't do so, you would have breached the contract and could be responsible for the damages caused by the breach; or (b) you undertook to forward the mail and did so negligently (e.g. by sending it to the wrong address, using insufficient postage, etc.) you could be liable for the damages caused by your negligence.  Bottom line is that if you did nothing wrong, you are not liabile for your client's penalties/assessments simply because the letters were mailed to you, but if you screwed up in forwarding the mail, you could be liable.... Read More

Yes.  It is not an uncommon practice for retailers with a great deal of clout (i.e. those that have a great number of outlets and thus order in large quantities) to demand rebates from suppliers on items which haven't sold as well as hoped.  While the retailers can't force suppliers to give rebates, suppliers often agree because they are afraid of losing the retailer's future business if they  do not agree to the rebates.... Read More

Statutes of limitations provide deadlines for when you have to file a lawsuit; once the lawsuit is started, it can be litigated for as long as it takes without implicating the statute of limitations.  If, as you say, your brother commenced his lawsuit more than 3 years ago, the statute of limitations would only help you if his claim was already too old back then.  Moreover, if the case has been going on for more than 3 years, you may no longer be able to assert a limitations defense if you have not already done so. I don't know what the statute of limitations is for fraud in Alabama, but generally fraud limitations periods only start to run from when the person claiming he was defrauded discovered, or with reasonable diligence should have discovered, the fraud.  Thus, for example, if the fraud was committed in 1980, but your brother did not and could not have discovered the fraud unil 2000, his limitations period for asserting his fraud claim would not begin to run until 2000.  Fraud limitations periods vary from state to state, but generally can be anywhere from 2 to 6 years.... Read More

Hope this isn't homework. A contract must have an offer which is accepted without modification (otherwise it modifications become a counter-offer) and exchange of value (called "consideration" in law) with enough specifics to detail the price, time of performance and conditions which may go with performance.... Read More

A "small claim" is generally a claim of any kind but one that is within the relatively minor monetary jurisdiction of a particular court, generally $5,000 or less. If you are willing to limit your claim to that amount, you may be able to assert it in small-claims court. Check with the court clerk where you live.... Read More

To oversimplify, the problem with your proposed business is that the items you are selling are not, in fact, licensed by the trademark owner. Your proposal to combine a licensed product with something else leads to the likelihood that an appreciable number of ordinary consumers would be misled into believing that the entire product was authorized or sponsored by, or originated with, the trademark owner, which is not the case. That is the very definition of trademark infringement. The "seals" make the problem worse for you, since their very purpose is to indicate origin or sponsorship. Of course, it is perfectly lawful for you to resell the licensed items exactly as you purchased them without the addition of the chain. The key legal issue is whether the disclaimer is sufficient to negate the consumer confusion element. There are a number of conflicting cases that address this issue. In general, the effectiveness of a disclaimer may depend on the prominence of the disclaimer, how sophisticated the consumers are, how careful they are in making purchasing decisions, and other factors. A good starting point for this analysis is Prestonettes, Inc. v. Coty, 264 U.S. 359 (1924), and courts have generally found that properly prominent disclaimer on repackaged goods can mitigate a likelihood of confusion. Because of a lopsided upside/downside relationship in this kind of business for you, you will want to review your business plan, disclaimer and packaging in detail with an attorney before launching the business. If we can assist you in this review, please contact us.... Read More

The sale of this property will generate a taxable capital gain, regardless of how and when you reinvest the proceeds. A former law permitted the deferral of tax on the reinvestment of proceeds of sale of a personal residence, but it applied only to certain actual personal residences (which this is not), and the law has, in any event, been superseded. Because of your holding period, the maximum applicable federal tax rate will be 15%.... Read More

It is impossible to answer your question from the facts you have provided. It appears as though the individual in question has not yet been tried. The most likely outcome is that the case will be resolved through some kind of plea bargain, which is how nearly all criminal cases are disposed of. It is also possible that the charges will be dropped if the witnesses are uncooperative. It's anybody's guess.... Read More

A wage garnishment comes about only following a court judgment. A court judgment comes about only as a result of a lawsuit. The Constitution requires that you be given notice and the opportunity to be heard prior to the entry of a court judgment against you. If you were not notified in any way, it may be possible to vacate the judgment. You will need to consult with an attorney who practices civil litigation in the jurisdiction in which you reside. Think carefully, however, about whether it is worth your time and money to hire an attorney to try to fight this. If you really do owe the money and do not have a bona fide defense, you will likely worsen your situation by spending money on legal fees.... Read More

As a general matter, the statute of limitations for collection of a judgment for an unpaid debt is 20 years or so. The creditor can generally continue efforts to collect it until it is paid in full. Your inquiry does not suggest that you not owe the money or that the debt is invalid in any way. The advice you have received appears correct -- file for bankruptcy, make payment arrangements with the creditor, or just pay it.... Read More

Lawyers will have great difficult commenting on the binding nature of a contract they have not read. If the contract relates to the employment or the compensation for employment, termination of employment may terminate the obligation, but some contracts survive the termination of employment.... Read More

The answer is "maybe." In order to prevail in a medical malpractice case, you will need to prove that your physician deviated from the accepted community standard of care in failing to diagnose your condition. In other words, you will have to prove that another competent physician with the degree of skill and care as are customarily exercised in your community would have diagnosed the condition when your doctor failed to do so. Your facts, as you set them forth, do not allow this conclusion, although it is possible that an evaluation of your medical records by an expert will point to precisely that conclusion. You need to have a consultation with an attorney who does plaintiffs' med mal work. Good luck.... Read More