Recently the Governor of New Mexico issued a stay at home instruction for New Mexicans. https://cv.nmhealth.org/2020/03/23/state-enacts-further-restrictions-to-stop-spread-including-stay-at-home-instruction/ The order lists what types of businesses have been deemed “essential business” but falls short of offering much detail other than that. The fact of the matter is many businesses provide products and services that their owners/managers certainly believe to be essential in today’s …
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 …
Successfully Managing Your Business During Social Distancing. (Coronavirus)
With schools closed, empty shelves at grocery stores and people it a general panic, it’s hard to imagine how one carries on, business as usual. If you’re like me, your mind has been sucked down every what-if rabbit hole imaginable, finding it hard to envision what “normal” looks like and how your work fits into this new reality. As the …
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 …
Why DWI Convictions Are Not Eligible For Expungement in New Mexico
The intent within the new expungement law in New Mexico is to “serve justice”. Justice is not served by erasing the criminal record of serious criminals or those who may be likely to re-offend. Alternatively, it also doesn’t serve justice that those who have made a mistake, taken responsibility for it and have avoided trouble since, continue to suffer a …
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 …
Do I Really Need to Buy “Extra” Title Insurance for Commercial Real Estate Purchases?
The four most popular “Extra Coverage” options in Title Insurance are: Rights of parties in possession (this exception would include, for example, the rights of a tenant with an unexpired lease term) Encroachments, boundary issues, and other matters that an accurate survey would disclose any easements not shown by the public records, and Construction and worker’s compensation liens If you …
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 …
