North Carolina Business Legal Questions

The general rule is to sue everyone, but in a contract action you would generally not have any recorse against a non-party to the contract, so who is your contract with, the physician individually or the P.A.?  if  you're suing on a contract between yourself and the P.A., the physician would generally not have any personal liability on that contract.... Read More

Are you receiving payments for yourself, or as the beneficiary of your father's estate?  If the former, you may have standing to enforce the contract or seek damages for its breach as a third party beneficiary of the contract between your father and his former partner; if the latter, the representative of your father's estate (the executor or administrator, or they may use a different term in NC) would be able to enforce the contract/seek damages for breach on behalf of the estate.  If no estate proceeding was instituted, starting one and getting an executor/administrator appointed would be a prerequisite to bringing any suit on behalf of hte estate.... Read More

You say it was a business lease,  Was your daughter the tenant, or was it a business entity she had created (i.e. a corporation or llc).  If the latter, and assuming that your daughter operated the entity properly, your daughter is not personally liable unless she personally guaranteed the obligations under the lease.  Also, depending on the jurisdiction (I don't know what the law is in NC), your daugher may not be liable for the entire unpaid rent, but only for the difference between the rent due under her lease and the amount the landlord is able to rent the space for now.   Assuming that your daughter is personally obligated  for the lease, you may still be able to reach a settlement with the landlord.  Since yur daughter is unable to pay her obligations, she may be eligible to have the debt discharged in bankruptcy.  While this is a last resort, it would also be bad for the landlord, who may accept less than the full amount to avoid it, particularly if that amount is offered by someone who is not legally obligated to pay it, i.e. a friend or family member of your daughter.... Read More

Trademarks apply to classes of goods/services, not for everything.  The touchstone is generally whether a consumer will be confused into thinking that your product or service is being offered by the trademark owner.  Thus, you couldn't operate a hamburger restaurant named "McDonalds", but you could operate an autobody shop by that name.  In your particular example, it seems like a close question to me, and you may want to consult a North Carolina attorney who deals with intellectual property issues.  He/she would be able to get deeper into the facts and give you a better idea of your status.... Read More

That depends.  Was your "business" a separate legal entity like a corporation or llc?  If not, you and your "business" are the same. If your business was owned by a separate legal entity, are the debts which were foreclosed upon in that entity's name or your personal name?  With rare exceptions, the individual owners of a corporation or llc are not personally responsible for the entity's obligations.  However, if you personally guaranty the obligations of the entity, you are responsible to the extent provided for in the guaranty. Moreover, even if you are personally responsible, not all of your assets can be used to satisfy the debt.  All jurisdictions have assets which are exempt, usually including some part (if not all) of the equity in your home.  I don't know what assets are exempt under North Carolina law, but it shouldn't be that  hard for you to find out with a little research.    ... Read More

It is fairly simple to keep your personal assets free from any liabilities of your business, as the owners of business entities (corporations and llc's are examples of independent entities; sole proprietorships are not) are generally not personally responsible for the obligations of the business (provided the business is run property, for example does not commingle its finances with the owner's personal finances, observes formalities such as having board of directors meetings and elections, etc.)  However, a determined creditor can, one way or another, reach the assets of a business owned by an individual debtor, however it is structured.  Even though the creditor should not be able to directly access the assets of your business if it is a corporation or llc, he/she/it will be able to reach those assets by (a)  either causimg your interest in the business (for example, your stock in a corporation) be sold in order to satisfy your debt; and/or garnishing any money you take out of the business entity as your compensation.  Moreover, if you were to transfer any money to your business or for its benefit (for example, if you paid the business's rent out of your personal funds) while unable to pay your creditors, it could be considered a fraudulent conveyance for which the business would be liable. ... Read More

A limited liability company is one of many different forms of business organization.   Others include corporations, general partnerships, and limited partnerships.  There is no legal requirement that you choose any particular form for your business, either before or after you start operating, or indeed that you choose any form of artifical entity at all.  The two of you can simply do business as individuals. People choose to form llcs, or corporations, partnerships, or other artificial business organizations, for many different reasons, but the most important revolve around tax and personal liability questions.  While there is no legal requirement that you form a business entity to operate your business, there may be good reasons for doing so.  In terms of not violating any laws, I think you should be concerned more about copyright and trademark issues than issues about business organization.... Read More

I am not familiar with North Carolina law, but I can't think of any reason why it would be illegal.  If the credit card issuer has provided a high enough limit, and has not restricted the items that can be purchased with the card, and the car dealer is willing to accept the credit card, I don't see a problem.... Read More

Although you don't mention it in your question, I'll assume that you were somehow damaged by the store being robbed.  I doubt very much that you would be able to prove that the store  had any obligation to anyone else (I don't know if you were a customer, worker, or a vendor whose merchandise was being sold in that store) to have surveillance, or that you can prove that, if there had been surveillance, the store would not have been robbed and/or your stolen stuff would have been recovered.  So the short answer is that you can sue anyone for anything, but I don't think too much of your case. ... Read More

In the U.S., except in California ( where such provisons are not enforceable), restrictive covenants can restrict a former employee's right to compete against his/her former employer, but such clauses are carefully scrutinized by Courts and not always enforced.  Enforceability depends on numerous factors, including: how long the restriction runs for; how broad it is geographically; whether the employee received any extra consideration for agreeing to the non-compete; whether the employee has any special skills; the amount of time and money, if any, that the former employer spent to train the former employee; whether the employee was terminated without cause, with causae, or left voluntarily; how easy it would be for the former employee to find employment without violating the covenant; etc.  If, as seems to be, this provision prevents you from ever competing with your former employer, and you were just an employee (not an owner) of the former employer, it will almost certainly be considered overbroad and unenforceable.  However, it is possible, although unlikely with a provision as broad as this one, that, rather than tossing out the whole provisoin entirely, a Court may modify it so that the Court considers it reasonable.  For example, rather than preventing you from competing forever, the Court may modify the clause so that it only bars you from competing for a year after termination.... Read More

The fact that someone else in another state is using a similar name is unimportant.  There are thousands of businesses whose name includes the words "acme" or "premium" or something similar.  What is important is whether the name being used by the other company is a trademark, and if your use of the name would violate the trademark (not knowing the name, I can't opine as to whether it could be trademarked).  The first is possible, but the second is unlikely. You can run a trademark search to determine if the other company's name has been registered as a trademark, but it is possible for the name to have acquired trademark status even if not registered (the trademark owner's riemedies for infringement would be less than if the mark was registered), even if that were the case, from what you've written, your use of the name would not infringe the trademark. The idea of trademarks is that consumers should not be fooled into thinking that two businesses using similar names (or other trademarks, trademarks are not limited to names) are connected, so that one doesn't trade on the goodwill owned by the other.  Consumers are unlkely to be so confused where the businesses sell different things or operate in different markets.  Thus, registered trademarks are registered for particular product classes.  While  Boston Market may have have a trademark on the name "Boston" with respect to fast food restaurants, that doesn't prevent a brewery from marketing Boston Lager.  Eastman Kodak may have a trademark for Kodak with regard to cameras, that doesn't mean that a travel company could not use the name "Kodak Tours."  If you are in a completely different business than the other company, you would not be violating any trademark by using the name.  Also, not all trademarks, particularly common law trademarks, extend over a wide geographic area.  Mario's pizza restaurant operating one restaurant in Iowa could not prevent a restaurant in Hawaii from using the name Mario's pizza restaurant - the Iowa customers are unlikely to patronize the Hawaii restaurant, or to be confused into thinking the two restaurants are connected if they do.  ... Read More

If you feel you have been discriminated against, you should contact a local employment law attorney to discuss your case. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More

The answer is "probably not." Although you have access to the account, your ability to pay yourself depends on the extent of your authority. In a dispute over this issue, it would probably come to light that you were authorized only to pay legitimate third-party bills and never authorized to pay yourself. Indeed, if you are no longer paying any such bills, the extraordinary nature of a one-time payment to yourself would underscore the impropriety that payment. You would be better served by obtaining her express authority to make the payment to yourself (in writing), or by having her make the payment herself.... Read More

Certainly. It is private property. It is the property owner's right to determine whom to admit and whom to exclude. Provided that discrimination is not practiced on a prohibited basis (race, religion, etc.), the owner of an establishment -- even one open to the public -- may deny admission to anyone.... Read More