New Jersey: I am writing this for a non-computer savvy friend of mine.
My friend is a small business owner/corporation; a subcontractor working in New Jersey, as well as Philadelphia, and the State of Pennsylvania.
He is suing a business for nonpayment of $7000.
The defendants, a much larger company, hired a law firm, who sent my friend (1st): a letter stating that their clients do not own the company my friend is suing, (2nd) a packet of questions virtually rdering my friend to answer them and return before the court date. The packet of questions order my friend to get affidavits from whomever has knowledge, and they must be under oath, and my friend must also submit any and all evidence he thinks is pertinent to his case--and this is from the defendants attorneys.
I told my friend NOT to fill out any questions UNLESS ordered BY The Court. This packet of questions came directly from the defendants' hired law firm.
Another issue---IN The Correspondence From The Defendants' Attorneys was a statement to the effect of..."you do not have a certificate of authority to work in Pennsylvania, and therefore, we don't owe you any money, and we may inform the state of Pennsylvania that you do not, in fact, have a COA to work in PA, and you will be subject to audits, and fines and penalties dating back ten years." (pursuant to whatever code from PA law...yadda yadda yadda...
My friend realizes that this is a threat, and upon a little research, has found out that being a whistleblower to a government agency is okay, with no legal ramifications. However, my friend is not sure whether or not this is an empty threat, or/and/if, in fact the defendant actually, at any time before, or after the court date, has the ability to carry out this threat--whether they win or lose the court case.
I think that it is an empty threat---knowing a little about the defendants-I think that they have had my friends money in escrow and have been making interest all along--and that they have made more use of the money---my point is that once the case is over--win or lose--the defendant has to THEN spend More Time AND Money to carry out that threat---you can't just 'tell on them'--you have to provide proof, in most cases.
Another point is that I dont think any state would seek to fine a small business from a neighboring state (that they want good relations with) to the point of putting them out of business; I think it would make more sense to inform the party to then get legal, or else be subject to fines, etc---I would think the states would go after larger companies who have the ability to pay the fines.
Another issue---the company being sued has changed addresses a few times, and at some point, included the letters 'PCA (followed by companies name) in their invoices and correspondence to my friends business.
My friend thinks they have changed companies legally and have done away, or are trying to do away with the legal responsibility of paying legal debts of that dissolved company.
I think the judge will see that the defendant is 'shady'; trying to avoid paying debts, and if he can, order the judgement in my friends favor.
A) What do you think about the case, in general?
B) What are the 'probabilities' that Pa will go after my friends small business with large fines for not having a certificate of authority to work as a subcontractor in Pa?
I personally think that the judge does not care about that packet of questions that the defendants attornies sent to my friend as, The Judge Has Enough To Read, considering the evidence. I feel as though as long as my friend shows up to court with all of his evidence, he has a great chance of winning his case. I realize the judge can only go so far to help my friend if in fact the defendants are shady characters quickly selling companies and changing names in order to avoid paying debts--even if they did it legally--I DO KNOW That The Judge CAN Order Them To Pay The Judgement, and then they would have to sue whomever they sold their company to---and the judge could also order my friend to find the actual owner, if one exists anymore, and sue them.
Thank You VERY Much!
My friend is a small business owner/corporation; a subcontractor working in New Jersey, as well as Philadelphia, and the State of Pennsylvania.
He is suing a business for nonpayment of $7000.
The defendants, a much larger company, hired a law firm, who sent my friend (1st): a letter stating that their clients do not own the company my friend is suing, (2nd) a packet of questions virtually rdering my friend to answer them and return before the court date. The packet of questions order my friend to get affidavits from whomever has knowledge, and they must be under oath, and my friend must also submit any and all evidence he thinks is pertinent to his case--and this is from the defendants attorneys.
I told my friend NOT to fill out any questions UNLESS ordered BY The Court. This packet of questions came directly from the defendants' hired law firm.
Another issue---IN The Correspondence From The Defendants' Attorneys was a statement to the effect of..."you do not have a certificate of authority to work in Pennsylvania, and therefore, we don't owe you any money, and we may inform the state of Pennsylvania that you do not, in fact, have a COA to work in PA, and you will be subject to audits, and fines and penalties dating back ten years." (pursuant to whatever code from PA law...yadda yadda yadda...
My friend realizes that this is a threat, and upon a little research, has found out that being a whistleblower to a government agency is okay, with no legal ramifications. However, my friend is not sure whether or not this is an empty threat, or/and/if, in fact the defendant actually, at any time before, or after the court date, has the ability to carry out this threat--whether they win or lose the court case.
I think that it is an empty threat---knowing a little about the defendants-I think that they have had my friends money in escrow and have been making interest all along--and that they have made more use of the money---my point is that once the case is over--win or lose--the defendant has to THEN spend More Time AND Money to carry out that threat---you can't just 'tell on them'--you have to provide proof, in most cases.
Another point is that I dont think any state would seek to fine a small business from a neighboring state (that they want good relations with) to the point of putting them out of business; I think it would make more sense to inform the party to then get legal, or else be subject to fines, etc---I would think the states would go after larger companies who have the ability to pay the fines.
Another issue---the company being sued has changed addresses a few times, and at some point, included the letters 'PCA (followed by companies name) in their invoices and correspondence to my friends business.
My friend thinks they have changed companies legally and have done away, or are trying to do away with the legal responsibility of paying legal debts of that dissolved company.
I think the judge will see that the defendant is 'shady'; trying to avoid paying debts, and if he can, order the judgement in my friends favor.
A) What do you think about the case, in general?
B) What are the 'probabilities' that Pa will go after my friends small business with large fines for not having a certificate of authority to work as a subcontractor in Pa?
I personally think that the judge does not care about that packet of questions that the defendants attornies sent to my friend as, The Judge Has Enough To Read, considering the evidence. I feel as though as long as my friend shows up to court with all of his evidence, he has a great chance of winning his case. I realize the judge can only go so far to help my friend if in fact the defendants are shady characters quickly selling companies and changing names in order to avoid paying debts--even if they did it legally--I DO KNOW That The Judge CAN Order Them To Pay The Judgement, and then they would have to sue whomever they sold their company to---and the judge could also order my friend to find the actual owner, if one exists anymore, and sue them.
Thank You VERY Much!
