I live in CA, worked in NV and paid with bad check by a person/bank acct. in Missouri

[pberman374]

What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA

I am an entertainer and I live in California. I recently worked for a person/business in Reno NV. It was a club. I was given a check for $1300 for my services. The check has the name of the club on it, but the actual account belongs to an individual (a dis-barred attorney from Missouri). Turns out the check was not any good, and the bank said there was no way the check was going to be good as the account had very little money in it for quite some time. The account is froma Bank of America branch in Missouri. that is also where the person who's account it is lives. This all happened over a month ago. I have left numerous messages for this person and have had no luck with a resolution. About two weeks ago I was lucky enough to get him on the phone. it was a Thursday and he said he would wire the money into my bank account on the following Monay. He did not do this of course. i have not been able to get him on the phone since that time.
Recap - I live in CA - worked in NV - and was given a bad check from a personand bank account in Missouri.
CAN I RESOLVE THIS MATTER IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT? IF SO, WHAT STATE DO I NEED TO FILE IN? As luck would have it, I am going to be in Missouri next week and could file it there if need be. What happens to my travel expenses etc. if that is the case? In some cases aren't you entitle to double or triple the amount of the original check.
FYI - the person that wrote the check is a disbarred Missouri attorney. He was disbarred for: http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/usaopress/2002/txdv02kohn_michael.html

PLEASE HELP ME. I NEED THE MONEY. I DID THE WORK.

THANKS!!!

 

[dcatz]

Civil damages are treble the face amount in both Nevada and Missouri. (Sorry - that was misleading - treble the face amount with a cap of $500 - both states.)

It would be easier for you to enforce in Nevada, and it seems to me that's the proper place as that's where the services were rendered and the contract breached. But you want to be able to sue and enforce somewhere, and I think a piece of the puzzle is missing.

What is the status of the club? Is it a corporation in Nevada? Is it this guy's dba, registered in Nevada? There has to be some Nevada connection. What is it?

 

[pberman374]

more info

Thanks for posting. I have more info. It is a Domestic LLC in Nevada. The LLC's status with the Nevada Secretary of State is "Default 7/1/2007". I performed at the club the first week of September and my check is dated September 9th. All that is after they were in default. The club closed 2 weeks after they wrote me the check as well.
I was finally able to get the guy on the phone today - no remorse at all on his part or even an attempt to work it out with me. He said he had alot of other things going on and that "they were an LLC...." and then his voice trailed off. I guess he was implying that I could not go ofter him for the money. Can I go after him (or the person listed as Manager of the LLC with the Secretary of State) personally for the money? Does the default status matter? WHAT SHOULD I DO?! PLEASE, PLEASE, help me out.
THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!

 

[dcatz]

OP – I’m sorry that you didn’t get additional opinions, while I was not posting.

To get directly to the bottom line, my opinion is that you should have a NV attorney review the situation, that may be prohibitively costly and, at first blush, it does not look promising.

This could be a long post and still be based on speculation, leaving you with the questions that you have now. Here is a link to NV’s LLC statute:
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-086.html#NRS086Sec272

Some things to note that address your questions: in addition to its articles of organization, a NV LLC may adopt an operating agreement that defines the rights and duties of members (NRS 86.296). By such an agreement, members can provide for a manager, who is not a member (NRS 86.291). This is more the exception than the rule, and it precludes one from responding to your question about possible liability of the manager without knowing if there is an agreement and what it says. The manager may or may not be a member.

For the same reason, one can’t know the powers and duties of the ex-attorney in MO. It seems fair to believe that, if he controlled the checkbook, they are extensive, but that’s speculation.

Your original post did not say that the club was gone as well. I was looking at NV as a more convenient forum and an operating club as a more viable source of recoverable assets. Your additional information changed that. NRS 86.263 – 86.278 pertains to a LLC in default, and 86.274 pertains specifically to distribution of assets. You would need a NV attorney to determine if the club’s authority was forfeited or the LLC was dissolved. Unless large dollars are at stake, this doesn’t make good economic sense, if you determine there is a possibility of recovery in MO.

In my own state, the president of a suspended corporation that continues to operate can be treated as conducting business as a sole proprietorship, and personal liability may be imposed. I considered the possibility that a similar legal construct might help you with a defaulted LLC, but we don’t know whether that would have a counterpart in NV law and we don’t know the extent of the attorney’s authority or interest (NRS 86.401). Even if you got a judgment in NV, because the checks were issued while the club operated, you’d have to domesticate in MO.

In conclusion, when one thinks about the member/manager of a LLC hiding behind a corporate “veil” to avoid personal liability, it’s useful to bear in mind that it is normally easier to comply with corporate requirements than to skirt them. I suspect that this ex-attorney had reason to be particularly meticulous about that and, while I wish you good luck, if you choose to pursue this, I would hate to see you throw good money after bad.