Do I have a case of alter Ego

[Savage Dragon]

What is the name of your state? UT

I have a tenant who walked from their lease. It was signed under a company name originally with a personal guarantee however during the renewal process, they somehow manage to sneak their way out of the personal guarantee. I guess they must of slipped it in contract when no one was looking.

Anyway, they walked from their lease. Can I go after the person for Alter Ego?

I don't they they observed the normal tradition and customs of a business. This person was a hair stylist who did the hair styling themselves and may have hired a few people to help out. Usually when you have a small business like this, there is commingling of money, no corporate meeting notes/minutes,etc.. traditions/customers lacking of a corporation. All that kind of stuff.

I am kind of 50/50 on if I should follow up to let them walk on this?

Anyway to going after this person for alter Ego or some other theory of law or am I SOL in this situation?

Thanks.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Anyway to going after this person for alter Ego or some other theory of law or am I SOL in this situation?

I assume the tenant was a corporation or LLC. If you didn't ensure that the tenant had the personal guarantee when you did the renewal, that's on you. In order to pierce the corporate veil you have to prove that the owner of the corporation or LLC disregarded the separate existence of the corporation/LLC and instead basically treated the business as though its assets were directly owned by the owner. You have to have some good evidence to prove that, which likely means that you'd have to do a lot of discovery in the litigation. That's going to mean you can't do it in small claims court. You ought to consult an attorney for help with that. And if your landlord business is also a LLC or corporation you'll be required to have an attorney represent the LLC or corporation in court. And after reading your other thread on pro bono attorneys, while attorneys will help out a lot of different indigent persons for free or low cost, landlords are not typically considered to be poor. They own property and have a business and ought to be able to afford a lawyer to sue tenants. That's part of the cost of being a landlord. So you're not likely to find any attorneys willing to do that for you for fee. You'll have to pay the lawyer for it. If you can't afford that then perhaps being a landlord is not the right business for you.

 

[adjusterjack]

I guess they must of slipped it in contract when no one was looking.

Yeah. When You weren't looking.

 

[Savage Dragon]

Yeah. When YOU weren't looking.

NO, I purchase the property and inherited the contact(and mess) from a previous owner.

 

[cbg]

There is NO such thing as a pro boner attorney. The term is pro bono. If you have heard it used the other way, you heard it wrong.

 

[eerelations]

NO Idiot, I purchase the property and inherited the contact(and mess) from a previous owner.

And you didn't review the "contact" (sic) and "mess" before you paid? Wow! I've never heard of someone with the financial wherewithal to buy property and/or a business, and somehow without the mental wherewithal to undergo a proper and standard due diligence.

Sorry, but if you couldn't be bothered to review the "contact" (sic) before you bought the property, whatever mess things are in now is your fault.