Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Would I have an recourse against a former business partner who ran up 2 business credit cards with personal purchases? One card is in my name at 20K, the other in his at 10K. We've had a gentleman's agreement that he would satisfy these balances. The 10k is down to 1K, and the 20K is now at 17,500, with slow pay, late pay. He has completely destroyed my credit. This all happened in NY....I now live in Florida. Is there any legal recourse....either in NY or federally?


Asked on 9/10/13, 4:38 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Roman Fichman Esq. Law Practice of Roman Fichman Esq.

You have two options. First is to be more aggressive about the repayment schedule. You can achieve this by retaining an attorney in NY who would put more pressure on your partner. If that does not work and your partner has assets then you could commence a law suit in NY. You can initially do that through an attorney without having to come up to NY

Realistically, there is a good chance that once an attorney is retained your partner will likely be more responsive about the payments without having to resort to a law suit.

If you require help in this matter please contact my office at your earliest convenience.


Roman R. Fichman, Esq.

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Disclaimer: This post has been written for educational purposes only and was not meant to be legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice or be relied upon. No intention exists to create an attorney-client relationship or any other special relationship or privilege through this post. The post may contain errors, inaccuracies and/or omissions. You should always consult an attorney admitted to practice in your jurisdiction for specific advice. This post may be deemed as Attorney Advertising.

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Answered on 9/10/13, 6:14 am
Frank Natoli Natoli-Legal, LLC

If what you are saying is that he enriched himself by essentially taking money from business cc accounts then this is also a crime. Depending on the timing and facts involved, law enforcement may be inclined to treat it as a civil matter, but you can certainly use the threat of criminal action as leverage to provoke a return of what appears to be your money.

Regards to civil recourse, NY will be the proper jurisdiction and you can certainly just sue him, but keep in mind that if he doesn't have two nickels to rub together this will only garner a judgment that is essentially not worth anything. As my colleague noted, another option is to hire an attorney to send a demand letter and this may serve to motivate him to stick to a settlement agreement and resume making timely payments. Forcing him to pay overtime even if that is somewhat painful to you, is far better than forcing him into a bankruptcy if you were to just sue him, in which case you may very well end up with nothing.

If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.

Kind regards,

Frank

www.LanternLegal.com

866-871-8655

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.

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Answered on 9/10/13, 7:28 am
SHAHRIAR KASHANIAN LAW OFFICES OF SHAHRIAR KASHANIAN, ESQ.,

You may initiate an action against him for breach of trust. First, send him a certified mail letter outlining your grievances and asking him to take action immediately to wipe the slate clean. He will also have to irrevocably cancel the card. If no action is taken to repay the personal items immediately, you should start an action immediately to preserve your credit.

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Answered on 9/10/13, 8:18 am


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