Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Re: corporation law suit

Nothing in life is risk-free. Doing business through a corporation limits your (the owner's ) personal liability for most, but not all potential items. Notable exceptions are payroll and sales taxes, and intentional torts or negligent acts committed by the owners. I.E. you cannot shelter yourself from liability for your own acts.

Having said that, forming a corporation, doing your activity through a corporation, and having adequate insurance goes a long way to minimizing risk. To reduce your risk beyond the basics, you should consult a lawyer and do some more detailed planning on the above items, and other exceptions to limited liability for corporate actions.

Our comments are based on the question you asked, and your question is being treated by us as a hypothetical. Accordingly, our comments could be substantially and materially different were we advised of all of the relevant facts and circumstances. Our comments are by necessity general in nature, and should not be relied upon in taking or forgoing action in your circumstances without retaining an attorney. In order to fully explore your legal matter, you should meet with us or another attorney and bring to any such meeting all relevant documents and correspondence, and any other relevant facts.

We are not hired to be your attorney, and no attorney-client relationship exists between us, unless and until you enter into a written retainer agreement with us, tender the agreed amount for a retainer and it is accepted by us. We reserve the right to decline representation should circumstances change.

As you are aware, in Illinois there are various deadlines for filing a complaint, filing an answer to a complaint, or taking other action in order to preserve your legal rights, and avoid a complete loss of those rights. You should retain counsel immediately in order to be fully advised of your rights, and to be fully informed of the applicable time period within which those rights must be asserted. If you were to delay in doing so, it might result in your potential cause of action being forever barred.

Re: corporation law suit

You have stated that you and a friend have formed a corporation. Were the articles of incorporation filed with the secretary of state in illinois? in your advertising, do you have "corporation, company, incorporated, limited or an abbreviation therof" following the name of your business? if the answer to both of those questions is yes, then your personal assets (ie: house, car, etc.) will PROBABLY be untouchable by a plaintiff suing the corporation. However, there is a device called "piercing the corporate veil" that may allow a plaintiff to get around the corporate entity and attack you personally. Common reasons why a plaintiff may be able to successfully "pierce the corporate veil" include, but are not limited to, lack of adequate capital of the corporation, fraud, "alter ego" (ie: the corporation is really just a person(s)), and failure to follow corporate requirements. If you have not properly filed the articles of incorporation with the state of illinois, i STRONGLY recommend it. you can call the department of business services of the secretary of state at (217)782-6961 or you can contact me at (847)845-4345 if you have further questions. hope this helped...good luck and be safe, justin

Re: corporation law suit

We are in receipt of your e-mail of 07/23/03. Unfortunately, our caseload at this time is such that we would be unable to devote the attention to your case that it deserves and must decline representation. We sincerely appreciate your interest in our firm.