Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

Hello, I have a Florida construction company and we offer home repairs and I want to market to the RV repair industry as RV's are basically a home on wheels. My question is concerning the business setup/ marketing.

I have a single member LLC (ex: XYZ Construction Services, LLC) and i want to market new services that the company name is not ideal for (ex: RV Repair). I realize I can file a DBA and use another business name regarding RV Repair but I understand there would be complications as to the protections provided under the LLC are not extended to the DBA. I dont really want to have multiple business entities.

I have two questions,

1. It is possible to avoid these issues by simple marketing the business by using the advertisement (XYZ's RV Repair) or would that be considered a different business name requiring a DBA?

2. If question one would require a DBA, Is it possible to market the business as RV Repair provided by XYZ Construction Services, LLC to avoid the DBA?


Asked on 12/20/12, 11:26 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Junilla Sledziewski Statman, Harris & Eyrich

1.) If you are going to operate under a trade name, you need to file a DBA. Like you pointed out, it can become complicated for liability purposes if you commingle two businesses under one name (the LLC's name). You are risking all of the assets of both businesses by only having one LLC (regardless of number of DBA's).

2.) I think this is the better option, because you are not using a trade name but rather just advertising RV repair as a service provided by XYZ. However, keep in mind that it might be prudent to consider establishing an LLC to protect the assets of both companies.

**This response is not intended to and does not establish an attorney client relationship**

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Answered on 12/20/12, 11:57 am


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