Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Hampshire

vendor sold and still owes me money

I am a broker that sells Labels in Ma. I have sold labels to a company in NH for 5 years. They currently owe me $30,000.00 that is over 120 days old. I was told 1 month ago that they were selling out to a company in Ca. I am not sure if the company was sold or some other agreement was made. But now, the company is no longer going by its old name, it is going by the name of the company in Ca. and has moved its business location to Ma. I was also told that the original owner still has some small piece of the company however. I asked if this company purchased all the debt and was told no, it purchased all the equipment and is taking over selling to its customers

I keep calling and asking to be paid ( the owner of the original company has another company), but get the brush off every time. what can I do? I am a small, one person broker and because I owe this money to my vendor, I have no way of getting any income because my vendor prints all my labels and has put me on hold till I pay them. It would be too costly to try to move all my business to another label printer.

I am hoping you have some advice as to how I can get this company to pay me thank you


Asked on 11/26/05, 8:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Raymond P. Bilodeau Law Office of Raymond P. Bilodeau

Re: vendor sold and still owes me money

The question is, what legal form did the business have that youi sold the labels to? If a dba, you can sue the former owner in MA. If a corporation, LLC or other separate legal entity, if it is still in existence, you might have to sue in NH, especially if it has any assets left in NH. If you can, get a copy of the sales documents to confirm that the new owner did not buy the debt. If they bought the legal entity, they may well have bought the debt.

If you sue the former owner, whether he was a dba or you are trying to "pierce the corporate veil" as we say in legalese, the sooner you go after him, the more likely you are to find something left from the sale of the business. He may file personal bankruptcy, although if he owns another business, he may not be able to, especially under the new rules.

You should never rely on one main source of income, and you should never let a commercial debt get so far behind. Alarm bells should go off, telling you this business is in trouble, and if you don't act quickly, you will be left out in the cold.

You may be able to find a lawyer who will take the case on a contingency basis (gets paid a percentage of what is collected). I do not do contingent fee cases. If you can afford a retainer, the amount of which will depend on more facts than you have provided, I would be interested.

Ray Bilodeau

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Answered on 11/26/05, 9:53 am


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