When looking at commercial leases either as a prospective tenant or as someone who wants to make sure they know their lease terms, it’s always a good idea to read the entire agreement yourself and have a lawyer review it, if possible. If you’re saving money by reviewing your own lease, there are certain clauses to be aware of that …
Can My Business Re-Negotiate Its Contracts with Vendors and Our Landlord in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
In today’s COVID environment, businesses are being told to close their doors and send employees homes. As such, many business owners are struggling to earn enough revenue to be able to meet their contractual obligations to their vendors, landlords and banks, let alone make payroll. With financial disaster looming for so many businesses, do standard contracts, loan documents or leases …
Are Handshake Deals Enforceable?
There is a common misperception that written contracts are required for any agreement to be enforceable. While it is almost always preferable to have a written contract, hopefully crafted by an attorney with an understanding of the issues related to the specific type of agreement contemplated, all is not necessarily lost if you do not. There are some types of …
Can You Simply Transfer Your Ownership in A Business to Someone Else?
You have ownership in a business, but you don’t want to be involved in the business anymore. Or, maybe you want to assign the distributions you receive from an LLC to payoff a debt. Can’t you simply just transfer your ownership to someone else without having to go through a lengthy, legal process? Time to check your Operating Agreement As …
When Your Client Won’t Pay- How to Collect on a Debt
There are many things a business owner can do from the get-go to improve their chances of a favorable outcome in the debt collection process. The most important tip is to start out on the right foot. Get a contract before you start work for any client- regardless of how small the transaction may be. Now when I say, get …
What To Do When “Equal Participation” Equals Deadlock
Absent language to the contrary in an Operating Agreement, “equal participation” means all partners have equal rights and authority to participate in the management of the business. This means each partner has one equal vote when it comes to decision making. Obviously, this can get tricky when you have an equal number of partners. So, what do you do when …
Non-Competes and Franchise Agreements in New Mexico
I cannot tell you how many franchisees I know come to me a couple years after having signed an agreement desperate to get out of it. Franchisors love to make fantastic promises about growth and potential, but when you look at the fine print, what you’ll learn is they place all the risk on the franchisee – and make it …
Adverse Possession
When I purchased my home, my neighbor’s hot tub was situated on my property line. I went ahead and closed on the purchase of my home (20 years ago) with the hot tub sitting on my property and forgot about it. I am now concerned that when the time comes that I want to sell my house, or my neighbor …
Consent & Contracts
Consent is an important element to a contract. It is required by both parties that are entering into a contract. Consent happens when the parties named in the contract acknowledge that they agree with the terms outlined in the contract. While consent is required for a contact to be binding, there are instances when consent or the lack there of, …
Consideration in Contracts
We all know that business deals involve careful consideration of company finances, risk, and potential gain. But the contracts underlying those deals involve another form of consideration—something that demonstrates each party has a stake in the outcome. In fact, contracts are only legally binding if there is consideration (along with an offer and acceptance, as discussed in previous blogs). In …
