Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

In 2005 I paid a cabinet shop (a Georgia LLC) over $20,000 up front for custom cabinets. The owner had been one of my best friends for years. The cabinets have never been built and I discovered online today that the State of Georgia dissolved his corporation on 9/08/10 for non payment of annual dues. He sent me an email on 9/18/10 in which he stated that he was about to start work on the cabinets. The email used his corporate name. Do I have any legal recourse against him since my receipt for payment is on his corporate letterhead and the corporation is no longer in existence? Can I take him to criminal court for contractor fraud and get him thrown in jail? I understand that he is broke because of a large medical bill for which he had no insurance and because a customer never paid him for a large cabinet job that took him 6 months to build.


Asked on 1/30/11, 8:55 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Phillip M. Cook Cook Legal Services, LLC

I'm assuming he never started or completed the work. If you want to sue him, you should first hire an attorney. If you don't hire an attorney, make sure you sue him personally (since it could be argued that he lost his corporate liability protection by failing to register as a corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State) and sue his company.

A private citizen cannot take anyone to criminal court. You can, however, make a report with the police and they will decide whether there is probable cause to arrest him. The prosecutor will decide whether there's enough evidence to move forward with formal charges.

Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*********

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Answered on 1/31/11, 3:32 am


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