Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

I worked for a large company and was told to sign a personal guarantee for merchandise credit.

The division I worked for was a retail division and no one was supposed to know who actually owned the company, so I did. The company was subsequently sold, however the original owner was still running the show. At that time, I asked numerous times to have my them sign the guarantee and get my name off of it. As it turns out, the new owners put the company out of business in a short time and my name was never taken off of the guarantee. I have emails from the original owner stating that he would take care of it, but he never did. Now I have the company that I signed the personal guarantee coming after me personally for the 16 + thousand dollar bill.

First Question: Am I Liable for the debt

Second Question: Can I go after the owner of the original company who is still in the same industry

who made me sign the guarantee as well as agreed to get my name off of it, but never did?


Asked on 3/02/10, 12:41 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Ronald Cappuccio Ronald J. Cappuccio, J.D., LL.M.(Tax)

You made a very unfortunate mistake by signing a personal guarantee. Because this guarantee was in writing, most likely you will have personal liability even though the company was sold. You should immediately obtain legal counsel to represent you in any claims by the creditor. Secondly, you should file suit against the company and the new owner. Depending upon how the company was set up, most likely you are not going to be able to sue the individuals, rather just the entity. This is a very sad situation that is quite common. In the future please do not sign personal guarantees for your employer.

I hope this helps!

Ron Cappuccio

www.BusinessEsq.com

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Answered on 3/07/10, 1:29 pm
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

I would recommend that you engage a business lawyer in your area. There are defensed to the personal guarantee that should be raised. Lack of consideration come to mind depending on the circumstances when the guarantee was signed. Additionally, the claims against you and your claims against your former employer should be litigated in the same suit if possible. This is not something that you should be attempting on your own. � See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

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Answered on 3/07/10, 3:26 pm
Robert Davies The Davies Law Firm, P.A.

Telling you that you made a mistake does not help you.

I have seen what the other lawyers have told you, and I will agree that you need a lawyer to defend you and go after the guy who got you into this mess.

If you want to come up to Hackensack, I will help you with this. Give me a call.

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Answered on 3/08/10, 7:28 am


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