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Your Attorneys & Business Partners
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Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, LLP Successfully Arbitrates Non-Circumvention Agreement
Non-circumvention agreements are often used to protect ideas, opportunities, and leads in business transactions. Essentially, they require the information provided by one party to be used exclusively for the purpose of pursuing a business relationship between the parties.
Stephan H. Andranian, a partner at Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, LLP (“VRS”), represented a Los Angeles client whose business involved connecting various manufacturers with e-commerce stores in order to sell merchandise directly to customers online. VRS’ client used a non-circumvention agreement in order to protect its right to the commissions, which were based on the manufacturer’s gross sales via the online retailers. However, after the accounts were set up, the manufacturer stopped paying the commissions due, so the client hired VRS to enforce the agreement. After a one-week arbitration hearing involving multiple witnesses, VRS obtained a judgment for its client against the manufacturer for all of the commissions due under the agreement. In addition, the manufacturer was responsible for attorneys’ fees and costs of suit incurred by VRS’ client, for a total judgment in excess of $250,000.
The law firm of Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, LLP can assist with drafting and negotiating agreements to protect your business interests, as well as enforcing such agreements should the need arise.
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Trust Protectors and Professional Fiduciaries: When should you add Extra Protections to Your Trust?
When creating your estate plan, one of the most important decisions you make will be who serves as the trustee of your trust. Most people choose trusted family members or friends to serve in this position and for a simple family trust those choices are appropriate. However, when the trust holds an interest in a business or a professional corporation or has complicated family dynamics, choosing a trustee can be far more complicated. Professionals can be used in these cases to assist in the administration of these more complicated trusts, including Trust Protectors, Professional Fiduciaries, and Corporate Trustees.
Trust Protectors are people nominated specifically in the trust agreement and granted special powers that are separate from the general powers and responsibilities of the trustee. For example, you may name your brother as the trustee of the trust but your friend, who is a Certified Public Accountant, could serve as the trust protector to provide an extra level of protection to the administration of the trust.
Professional Fiduciaries are individuals who are specifically trained to manage the assets of other individuals who entrust their finances to the fiduciary. In California, they have completed over thirty hours of specific training, have passed an extensive background check, are bonded and licensed by the state.
Corporate Trustees are typically trust companies that may be affiliated with major financial institutions (i.e. banks). They are impartial third parties who can provide an entire team of financial professionals and extensive resources to the administration of your trust. They must meet the extensive compliance standards for both the federal and state governments.
Using a Trust Protector, Professional Fiduciary, or Corporate Trustee (or a combination of the three) can provide the necessary technical and professional experience to sustain a complicated trust. Considering a professional fiduciary or a corporate trustee as the successor trustee to the trust can also provide a layer of security to the trust administration and potentially dissuade battling parties from litigating disputes.
Whether you need to create your estate plan or review your existing plan, VRS can assist you in discussing your goals and how best to achieve them.
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Judgments: How to Collect
Congratulations, you’ve won the lawsuit! You went through the entire process which may have taken over a year…you endured the depositions and even went through a trial. The court finally awarded you a judgment. So now what?
One of the more frustrating parts of the legal system for clients is collecting on what is owed to them. The judgment that is awarded by the court is the first step in the collections process. While it is the most important step, the fact that the court awarded you money does not mean that the debtor will automatically pay. There are several things that you can do in order to collect the judgment:
Locate Assets. Finding the judgment debtor’s assets is critical in the collections process. The most common way to locate assets is to search public records. However, to verify assets and to locate assets such as bank accounts, a Judgment Debtor Examination (where the judgment debtor is deposed in the courthouse and is forced to provide details of his/her/its finances) is a useful tool and may lead to money or property which can be used to pay the judgment.
Lien Assets. In specific cases, liens can be placed on the person’s real estate before a lawsuit is filed (for example, a mechanic’s lien). However, every type of judgment can be recorded, which is a process by which the judgment is filed with the county clerk where the judgment debtor owns property and with the California Secretary of State’s office. This puts any potential buyers or lenders on notice that the judgment debtor owes you money and may prevent the sale or refinancing of the property (without paying you first). It will also negatively affect the judgment debtor’s credit rating.
Bank Levy. If the debtor has a bank account or a safe deposit box, the judgment can be used to take the money from the account or take the contents of the safe deposit box.
Garnish Wages. If the debtor is employed, the judgment can be used to obtain an “Earnings Withholding Order”, or wage garnishment. Only a certain percentage of the debtor’s paycheck can be used to satisfy the debt, but this is always a good option in order to start getting you paid on the judgment.
The attorneys at Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, LLP have experience in both locating assets and collecting on judgments and can assist you in recovering what is rightfully yours!
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VRS Partner Jeffrey Resnick to Serve as Chair of the Orange County Bar Association Business & Corporate Law Section
VRS Partner Jeffrey Resnick will serve as the Chair for the Orange County Bar Association’s Business & Corporate Law Section for year 2018. The Business & Corporate Law Section holds monthly meetings and offer continuing legal education on topics within the practice of business and corporate law, this includes discussing current issues in tax, labor, securities, insurance and international matters that relate to this practice area. The goal of this section is to further the knowledge of its members concerning the practice of business and corporate law.
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