Legal Question in Business Law in California

Partnership Dispute

My partner and I have been involved in a retail website corporation. After failed negotiations to buy or sell, I went to take the listings off of our website to close the business. When I did this, my partner took all the money from our bank account, the pictures and listings, as well as hijacked all of our ebay and merchant accounts by changing the information. Can a small claims court place an order to prevent him from using these assets for future gains? What will the judge decide when a value cannot be put on certain assets such as pictures and listings? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 7/30/07, 11:08 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Jeb Burton The Burton Law Firm

Re: Partnership Dispute

I don't know how much money you are dealing with, but this sounds beyond the purveu of small claims court. A judge can put an injunction on the use of said assets if they are ligitmately in dispute. As far as value is concerned, a third party will generally be brought in to decide the value, and most things (my guess including your intellectual property/business you just described), have a value. Of course this depends on the size of the company and its value.

As far as suggestions, you might want to speak to a business attorney who can look over your whole case.

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Answered on 7/30/07, 12:09 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Partnership Dispute

If the amount in question is actually within the $7500 max of small claims court, you'll have about 5 minutes to make your case to a busy judge, who is not likely to do anything except issue a generalized order that tries to split the baby. Suggestions: act professional and hire an attorney to try to get this resolved. Feel free to contact me if serious about doing so.

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Answered on 7/30/07, 2:35 pm


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