Legal Question in Business Law in Georgia

Hello, I have owned a large landscape company for the last 12 years. It was very successful until about 2 years ago. We were a 13million a year company that due to the economy dropped to 2-3million a year. For the last 10 years I have had my best friend, since we were 7, work for me. I treated him and his family very well with lavish vacations and even a Rolex as a bonus gift. About a year ago I went through a divorce and along with the economy had to file bankruptcy personally and professionally. I didn't want to lose my accounts that I have had for 12 years so I asked my best friends wife-the same best friend I have employeed for the last 10 years-to put the company in her name and take out a loan for some of the cost to start over.(he wasn't able to do it due to his credit). She had good credit but due to my business plan and the business I still had on the books and contracts for she was able to be approved for the loan. We made a verbal agreement to be 50/50 with the profits and eventually I would put the company back in my name. This all came about 1.5 years ago. About 3 weeks ago I started working on putting the company in my fiance's name and take it back over. I found out he has been taking the company to different people and trying to sell the company yet the new buyers would keep him on. The company has been run into the ground due to them not being able to run a company. They stopped paying me about a month and a half ago and that was part of the reason I knew I had to step in before it was to late to save. I am now faced with my lifetime friend going behind my back and cutting me out of a company I built but also losing what I have worked hard for over the last 12 years. So the question, in the simplist fashion I can think is-Do I have any legal right to stop him from selling the company and is there an immediate 'stop' I can put on him legally that will stop him from going to my longtime clients and telling them I'm out of the business and moving on?


Asked on 4/12/11, 6:03 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Your questions are far beyond something to ask on an internet forum. You needed a lawyer long ago before you started making a lot of really bad mistakes. That includes putting assets in someone else's name to avoid debts - that is called fraud. If you hid assets in your bankruptcy case, it is a federal crime that can get you years in prison. Get a lawyer now to fix the huge mess you have created.

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Answered on 4/12/11, 6:09 pm
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

Beacause you were too cheap to spend a few hundred dollars on a written contract, you likely cost yourself a business.

If you sue, you either may lose, or, if you win, expect to pay possibly tens or hundreds of thousands to a lawyer now.

You have learned, sadly, a costly lesson.

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Answered on 4/12/11, 6:12 pm
Glenn M. Lyon, Esq. MacGREGOR LYON, LLC, Business Attorneys

You may be able to obtain an injunction, but it is a fairly high standard to meet. Otherwise, you may have a claim against this individual, but it will depend on the facts. Because it was a verbal agreement, it is a messy, fact-driven issue.

If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. The link to my contact information is below. Thank you.

The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.

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Answered on 4/13/11, 8:10 am


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