Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Payment for service not recieved

Stopping the domain may not be the wisest idea, some courts do not like self-help in collection services. Please call my office so we can further discuss this problem.

Regards,

JDH, Esq.

619.298.1969

Re: Payment for service not recieved

Whenever I get a question like this, my first thought is, what's wrong with this picture?

Here's a guy who is the CEO of a small business and has to go to some Internet bulletin board 'cause he doesn't know any lawyers; and he made a deal without having a lawyer write the contract for him.

You should be thinking about your next gig and how you lock down the situation in advance with a well-written contract and a personal relationship with an attorney in whom you have confidence.

Your standard contract should specify under what circumstances you may pull the plug on the customer's domain name, and would provide for attorney fees on top of the amount owed in the event you have to take them to court.

As to your present situation, whether or not you are the "legal owner" of the domain name or have the right to the self-help remedy of cutting off their email, or whether it is a better business decision to possibly not burn your bridges with this customer, depends on lots of factors such as how hungry you are, how likely you would be to collect a court judgment if you got one, and others.

In my opinion, you would be well advised to hang up from the Internet and make an appointment for an in-person consultation with a lawyer near you.

Re: Payment for service not recieved

I also believe that self-help such as turning off a tenant's electricity or a client's Web access is not going to ingratiate you to the judge or jury. Automobile and other finance contracts have built-in repossession rights; your contract with this client probably doesn't pre-authorize repossessing the Web site and to do so might expose you to liability for his business losses.

Re: Payment for service not recieved

By pulling the plug on your non-invoice-paying client's domain name, you may be preventing him from doing his business and earning a living. That could lead to potential liabilities for you and your business.

I would be happy to consult with you and assist you in this matter. Feel free to call my office.

www.benavideslawfirm.com

Re: Payment for service not recieved

The risks? Lawsuits, defense costs, adverse judgments, etc.

A better approach is to get an actual legal opinion, based upon review of all the facts and documents, taking into account the laws that may apply, before taking any action that has such potential consequences.

The general attitude of 'I don't need no stinking lawyer' is what gets people into such legal trouble, and a lawyer is what finally gets them out. You're obviously still trying to 'do' business without doing it right - you're asking for free legal advice instead of paying to get good legal advice. Your contract with your customers should have spelled out all these issues, that is why legitimate companies pay to have them well drafted once -- to avoid litigating every customer dispute later. Since you chose not to spend the money to get that done early on, you get to spend more money now fixing the problem that decision caused, or you don't collect the revenue you thought you would, or you further aggravate the situation by doing something that will backfire. Now that you have been chastened, feel free to contact me if interested in doing this right, including solving your current problem, and getting the work done that will prevent it in future.