Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: HVAC Business

He is going to sue for a unit you installed in 1970?? At first glance the lawsuit would seem too tardy to pass muster under the "statute of limitations." Or am I missing something? In any event, depending on how your company was organized you might still be liable if damages are awarded, and even bogus lawsuits can result in default judgments if you don't respond. Therefore, you would be well advised to respond to the lawsuit within the 30 day time limit after service. Depending on the terms of the original contract, you might (or might not) be entitled to recover attorney fees if you win.

Re: HVAC Business

As ridiculous as their claim may be, if they file suit you will still have to have an attorney go through the motions of getting the matter dismissed. You have many viable defenses, including the privity of contract issue, laches and statute of limitations (to name a few). If your business was insured during this time your insurance company may still be on the hook to defend you. If suit is filed, I would start there. If you would like to discuss further, feel free to contact us.

Yours truly,

Bryan

By the way, regardless of this ridiculous homeowner you should be proud your HVAC worked for the last 40 years...

Re: HVAC Business

I agree.

You cannot ignore the suit, but the new owner does not seem to have much of a case against you.

Your insurer may be required to represent you, depending on your policy and whether or not they are still around.

Re: HVAC Business

I agree with the three previous answers, and still maybe there's room to add a couple of thoughts.

First, what do you mean by "trying to sue?" Sueing someone is easy, it's winning that's sometimes hard. If suit has been filed and served on you, i.e., if a summons and complaint have been delivered, he's no longer just trying....he has sued.

As the answers point out, you have a solid defense in the statute of limitations, but like any defense, it has to be asserted; the court will not assert it for you!

You didn't say whether the suit is in Small Claims or the regular court. I will assume the latter for the rest of this answer.

There are at least three possible approaches an attorney working for you might want to take. The first is to call the plaintiff's attorney and ask for a voluntary dismissal, with prejudice. Your attorney can point out that, since the suit will be defended in any event, plaintiff cannot win, and by pursuing the case will just be wasting plaintiff's time and money and possibly setting himself up for liability for your costs or even a countersuit for malicious prosecution later on.

The second possibility is to have your attorney file and serve a demurrer. This asks the court to rule that the case cannot proceed because the pleadings show that the defendant has a complete defense.

The third possibility is to file and serve an answer, including as an affirmative defense the fact that, after 39 years, the claim is barred by the statute of limitations.

I've listed the three approaches in my order of preference, but additional facts not given in your question might reverse the order of preference or even suggest other approaches. Unless there are major matters not mentioned in your question, the only way you can lose is to ignore the complaint, if and when served.

Re: HVAC Business

No, of course not. But that doesn't stop loons from filing suit. If the company went out of business, how is it that you are dealing with this, rather than ignoring it? If it was anything other than a sole proprietorship [you alone], there is no one left to sue. Send him a letter telling him there is no valid case, the company is gone, and that you will counter sue him if required to defend this nonsense. If you end up needing legal help, and if this is in SoCal, feel free to contact me.

Re: HVAC Business

If you ignore the lawsuit you can have a judgment against you even if not liable under the law otherwise, so you must deal with it. Let me know if you want assistance.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

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