Bad Business

[tez]

Florida.
My Wife And I Bought A Bridal Store In November, in The Closing Contract It Clearly Stated There Were No Leins Or Debts. since We Took Over We Have Found A Lot Of Undisclosed Debt With Suppliers. and To Get The Orders We Have Had To Pay Off These Debts Gradually, Even Though We Said That We Were The New Owners And That We Had A Contract That Stated We Took Over The Business Without Debt. they Said If You Dont Pay The Debt Off Then They Would Not Be Sending The Orders. So We Were In A Catch 22 Situation. there Was No Time To Re-order With Another Supplier As It Can Take 6 Months To Make A Dress. We Contacted An Attorney And Started A Case To Sue The Previous Owner But This Has Dragged On And Cost A Lot Of Money And Got Us No Where It Seems. now We Have No More Money To Throw At This And We Are In Debt, How Can The Previous Owner Get Away With This And How Can We Get Justice Without It Costing Us A Fortune.

 

[shortbus]

If your breach of contract claim is as good as you say it is, find a lawyer to take it on a contingency basis.

If you can't find a lawyer to take it on contingency, it's probably not a very good case, ie. the chance of getting enough money, or any money at all, out of the former owner is slim. Sorry.

If you ever do this again, write in your contract that a certain amount of the purchase price will be kept in escrow for 6 months following the closing date. Then if unforeseen debts arise, there's money to pay for it.

Also, if the business depends on these key suppliers, it would've been smart to contact them prior to signing the deal and verifying the former owner's credit status as part of your "due diligence". You took his word for it, and you didn't have to.