Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: motion to dismiss

No lawyer can answer your question without reading the complaint and obtaining additional information. You could conceivably file a motion for judgment on the pleadings or a motion for summary judgment. If the case is in SoCal, I would be pleased to read the complaint or otherwise advise you.

Re: motion to dismiss

Normally, the first chance you get to challenge the pleadings is through a demurrer, but you're way past that. It's unfortunate you didn't (I assume) have an attorney review the lawsuit at that stage. Now, the next opportunity to challenge the lawsuit is probably through a summary judgment motion. That is not a simple motion. Based on your post, I would as gently and respectfully as possible, suggest that you don't sound like you know what you're doing on your own. If this case involves very much money at all, you would be well advised to seek legal counsel. (This does not count as "seeking legal counsel" because attorneys through this format can only provide generalized comments and don't intend to form an attorney-client relationship with you or give you personalized recommendations. It's a great place to get some generalized impressions of several attorneys or some ideas about general legal issues regarding a particular subject area, but it doesn't reach the details. There's just too much information missing from nearly any post to be able to provide real legal advice.) An attorney would review the lawsuit and your documentation and be able to determine if a summary judgment motion is the best strategy. This would be a type of cost-benefit analysis to decide if the probability of winning in that format would justify the cost of preparing the motion. This would include determining whether additional steps such as depositions would be necessary to support the summary judgment motion.

Re: motion to dismiss

I presume that you filed an ANSWER with your motion to set aside default. Therefore, you will have to proceed toward trial with the only opportunity to dismss being a Summary Judgment Motion if there are not any discoverable facts piercing the corporate veil. Contact me directly.

Re: motion to dismiss

Assuming that you have followed the correct procedures to date, the appropriate Motion is a Motion for Summary Judgment as you would need some kind of evidentiary material to prove that you as an individual did not commit the acts. This is a pretty complicated procedure and you should seriously consider hiring counsel licensed in Illinois. Good luck.

Re: motion to dismiss

A motion for summary judgment probably wouldn't succeed; you would have to show a complete defense as to which there are no disputed material facts.

There are very likely going to be many disputed facts in an alter ego case. The basis of an alter ego allegation is that the person charged as the alter ego disregarded the separate nature of the corporation to an extent so detrimental to plaintiff that the individual defendant should be treated as one and the same with the corporation, and that to fail to so treat the defendant would result in a miscarriage of justice. This sets the scene for plaintiff to allege defendant did A, B, C, ... Z. When the answer refutes some of these, the scene is set for triable issues of material fact, and the MSJ fails.

I suspect that your best bet is to give up on the notion that you can get yourself dismissed - the plaintiff is probably pursuing "alter ego" because the corporation is defunct or judgment-proof - and focus on defending and winning at trial, on the merits; or at least, settling out of court on reasonable terms.

Winning a motion to vacate a default judgment is childs' play compared with obtaining dismissal or summary judgment of a well-pleaded complaint. Recognize your risks now; get a lawyer and present a solid defense.

Re: motion to dismiss

Disproving the alter-ego claim will probably require a great deal of discovery followed by a summary judgment motion. You probably can't make the case go away quickly, unless the complaint was poorly drafted. As others have noted, you will want an attorney.

Re: motion to dismiss

On whatever factual and legal basis you actually have.

The pleadings and the outcome of the motion depend upon ALL the facts, and upon the allegations in the complaint. You may not be able to get it dismissed, at least now, just because you believe it should be. Since you don't know what or how to do, I suggest you hire an attorney that does. If the case is in SoCAL courts, feel free to contact me if serious about doing so. I'd be happy to help you.

Re: motion to dismiss

As others have noted, your options at this point are limited to a motion for summary judgment -- which is a large task for a pro se defendant. You received some good information here and as others have pointed out, seeking counsel is your best option at this point. If cost is an issue, our litigation services are provided on an up front, fixed fee basis.

Feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Yours truly,

Bryan