Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

As a Franchise Attorney I think you should repost your question with additional information. The kind of business you opened, legal structure (corporation, LLC, etc.), your initial and ongoing roles, etc. Consult with a good business or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.

Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation

There are a great deal of facts missing from here to provide a firm opinion. But in hopes of giving you some guidance, here are some things to consider. Of course, if you have any belief or suspicion that your actions could put you in an unfavorable position, you should meet with a local attorney knowledgeable in coporate law and employment law.

First, do you have a written employment agreement? Second, are you leaving the business to directly or indirectly compete with the prior business? Third, do you have a non-compete agreement with the current company? Finally, regarding the investors that you mentioned, you should closely analyze any agreements that you have with them to ensure that you are complying with the terms and conditions of any such agreement.

Best of luck.

Counsel above have given you much needed advice and you should check with a Business attorney. As to obligations you have, as mentioned above it depends on several factors you need to inform your counsel about. In the meantime you may wish to review the many sections of law that deal with: Fiduciary obligations of Directors, Officers, and Managers of Business entities; also you may have made both contractual obligations and representations that investors relied upon to their detriment including your implied agreement to remain with the company that made the investor give consideration. There also is "ostensible agency" involved and equitable actions that may have arisen that could cause damage to you. Pay particular attention to what Mr Orchard refers to as restrictive covenants or written provisions where you have agreed not to compete against the past entity - this could result in a direct or derivative lawsuit by an investor on behalf of the entity going after you for "all of your future profits" - quite drastic. Last but not least are state and Federal Security laws that deal with investors, even if you believe that your entity did not need a "offering prospectus" the anti fraud provisions (10b-5 et al ) are very detailed in what you could and should have represented to them. Enough said.