Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Alabama
Civil Action
I sold a company 2 years ago and the current owner defaulted on the equipment lease. I was recently served a summon stating that I was being sued also because I had my personal gaurantee on it. When I sold the my shares in the company the sales contract clearly said I was not responsible for any debt or liabilities after the date of the sale plus I also informed the bank of this change but they never updated the paperwork and removed my gaurantee. What can I do in this case?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Civil Action
Defense of this suit will be moderately complex because you need to approach it on two fronts. First, you should defend on the basis that the peronal guarantees had lapsed. Whether you can make a good case for this will depend on facts such as whether there were new charges after you left the company and gave notice. That might not be the case for the equipment lease and the creditor is not obligated to let you off the hook just because you ask for that. So, you may be jointly liable for all or some of the debt.
Your second approach will be to crossclaim against or implead (bring in) the company and the new owners who should be primarily responsible for the debt. That way, you stand a chance of getting a contribution from them even if the court should find you responsible for the debt.
You probably should not try this yourself. Get a lawyer to review the documents and the pleadings. Don't ignore the matter. If you do, you will lose by default and will then either have to pay or go through even more steps with the court.
My firm handles matters of this type. If I can be of further help to you, call or email. If you remind me that the contact was through Lawguru, the first consultation will be free.
See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm