Whom is (most) liable and viable to sue in this circumstance?

[6079]

Alaska

I worked for a small charter fishing company primarily owned by a man that does not actually work there, but did meet me, and knew and acknowledges my activity in a letter. He does not acknowledge me as being under his employ, however, and paints me as a more loose, independent worker strictly under the responsibility of one of the captains of one of his boats.
This captain is my half-brother. I reported almost entirely to him, however, I did do work for another of the owner's boats and its captain. There's no dispute, from a non-legal standpoint, I did most of my work for my brother. This is a convenient chance for him to shrug this off as a family dispute, which is true, but does involve his company.
Obviously, the case would work better against the owner, for purposes of receiving payment, as he is more wealthy. Can you help me decide whom to target? Is he still liable for his employee's actions? He was aware of this and acknowledges it in a letter, and the work was done for his company, just supervised by one of his employees.

This makes sense, but I guess I'm trying to make sure I go with the best case. Because I'm unsure if the court would allow a secondary suit against my brother, if the case against the owner fell through? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[racer72]

The person that hired you owes you the money. I worked as a deckhand on charter boats years ago, I worked for the skipper of the boat, not the charter office. You could always play the deep pockets lottery, sue everyone and let the judge decide.

 

[Zigner]

So, you've been stewing over this for a month...https://forum.freeadvice.com/small-claims-courts-24/general-small-claims-overview-457506.html

WHAT are you thinking of suing for?

 

[6079]

The company is a now a dissolved LLC. The registered agent is a law firm. There were three owners listed at the time I worked for them, with one of them my supervisor I worked most closely with.

My statute is running up soon, so I need to get this right. From reading around, I'd want to go for the registered agent, is what I gather. Would I just list the law firm or each lawyer? Or should I go against the person I worked most closely with?

I do know this company had a lot of debts -- I don't know if they paid them, but I don't believe they filed for bankruptcy, so I'm unsure if that means there is little hope to get a collection from them because of whatever debt plans they have in place.

Is it tougher to collect from a dissolved LLC than an individual?

As the poster above noted, should I just list them all (LLC company, registered agents, each separate owner) and let the judge sort it out?

 

[justalayman]

maybe I missed something but why are you considering suing anybody? Through both posts, I could not find why you are considering suing anybody.

So, as Zigner asked; what are you suing for?

 

[6079]

I worked for a charter fishing company for three months and have not been paid. I'm suing for those unpaid wages.

There was no contract and it was unclear who was meant to pay me because my direct supervisor is my relative and brought me in, and I worked mostly for him and his vessel. I did, however, help the company in general, though, in office work, etc. My relative is listed as one of the owners, by the way, but the other two owners are claiming this is a family dispute and I never provided any work for the LLC, which is untrue. Even if it was, I don't know that they're not also liable as co-owners.

I'm pretty confident with winning the case, if it's a simple preponderance of the evidence. As I laid out, I'm just not sure which entity or individual to specifically file against.

 

[justalayman]

who did you expect to pay you?

In other words, were you an employee of the company or an employee of the captain?

Who writes the checks for the ships hands?

 

[6079]

There was actually another deckhand there -- he and the other employees were on legitimate payroll and were paid by the company.

I never signed anything, however. But I know the company did have payroll and regularly paid two other employees with checks, who were doing the same type of work I was. The reason I didn't go through that was the good faith I put in my relative who brought me there. I don't know if this matters, but it was never said that he would have to pay all my wages; that seems ridiculous. It was assumed the company would pull out of it's collective funds to do so.

 

[justalayman]

I would simply include the captain and the company. Better to have all the possibilities in hand than not enough.

 

[6079]

Allright, my final question is if the LLC I worked for is now dissolved, should I file against them? Or are they protected from paying any judgment now?

If so, would it be best to leave them out, and file against an individual only?