[payloansday]

Get legal advice first, you should have had a shareholder and partnership agreement drawn up asap, friend or not, but that's no help right now. Speak to a solicitor that deals with business disagreements and explain you had a verbal contract with this partner and he's basically gone behind your back and pushed you out. Here's a good place to start. You have more rights than you think, even though nothing was drawn up.

If everything else failed, i would most certainly write an email to his boss, explaining how he's poaching his employees, using his contacts and even trying to poach contracts and ideas. This would be enough to get him sacked on the spot, which he deserves. If he thinks he can f*ck people over, then he should expect it to happen to him, you reap what you sow.

Finally, if you go to start up another business, get some advice first. There are many things you can do to stop this sort of thing, so even if you consider the people you are doing this with as friends, still get that shareholder/partner agreement drawn up and at the minimum make sure you mark any paper work you do with something like:

Copyright 2011 TheDigitalRob. All Rights Reserved.

EDIT:

Yea i just found this:

Without a partnership agreement the actions, powers and rights of each partner are controlled by the Partnership Act 1890. This act has many provisions but those which can have a significant effect include:

• All partners are entitled to share the profits equally no matter how much capital, effort or skill they bring into the business.
• Any partner can bring the partnership to an end just by giving notice to all the other partners. It is also dissolved if a partner dies.
• All partners are jointly and severally liable for the liabilities incurred by the company. This means that if a debt cannot be paid then the creditor can pursue all the partners individually and one may be forced into the position of paying the whole debt by themselves.
• Should a partner get into financial difficulties then their creditors can take assets from the partnership to settle them.
• All partners are considered "agents" of the business and act on behalf of the other partners. They can enter into contractual and financial arrangements which are not good for the business but these will be binding.
• All partners have an equal say in the business and decisions can take time or the business break down in the event of a severe dispute.

So even without a signed agreement, you are still covered by the Partnership Act of 1890: Full Act.

[thehhhyips]

IceMan', that may not be relevant, depending which country he is in - however, something similar may apply.

DM, would it be proper to notify the prospective investor that he's taking legal action? I was thinking that it would be unfair for that 3rd party to have funds risked for something that wasn't of his making?

[ZesePreodaNed]

I'm not 100% sure about the workarounds or the total story, but from what you wrote it seems your friend made the biggest mistake of pushing you out of the company, basically you did everything by yourself and the brains of the whole thing, which means without you their current state is, as you have wrote just the face and without the brains or muscle.

You know what their strategies are because they came from you.

And as a lot of people pointed out, there are no friends when it comes to business, heck there is no family when it comes to business. Once you mix relationships with money you're going to get totally screwed over.

I'd vote for emailing his boss, maybe not spill everything.. just enough to instill the idea that one of his employees is planning to steal from him and believes he can get away with it.

[Madjostok]

DM, would it be proper to notify the prospective investor that he's taking legal action? I was thinking that it would be unfair for that 3rd party to have funds risked for something that wasn't of his making?

The investor would uncover it in due diligence if the other parties are honest. Oh, wait.... I'd tell him what has happened personally. He may decide he wants to work with our man here instead of the lying ****.

[Grennios]

Don't listen to some of these p***ies. If you are tired of getting pushed around then grow a pair and make this guy pay. He clearly had no regard for you, why should you have some for him.

[Madjostok]

Don't listen to some of these p***ies. If you are tired of getting pushed around then grow a pair and make this guy pay. He clearly had no regard for you, why should you have some for him.

He can't prove that he is entitled to anything. What would you like him to do?

[Grennios]

He can't prove that he is entitled to anything. What would you like him to do?

Ruin the other guys chance of business. Why can't he do this?

[tpJKhY8Z]

Ruin the other guys chance of business. Why can't he do this?

Because without hard proof that he is going to do it, he could be sued for defamation...

Besides, in the time that he's wasting thinking about revenge, he could be working towards the future rather than living in the past... innovate, not litigate, etc etc.

[Grennios]

Because without hard proof that he is going to do it, he could be sued for defamation...

Besides, in the time that he's wasting thinking about revenge, he could be working towards the future rather than living in the past... innovate, not litigate, etc etc.

Unlikely.

[DoctorDeryOne]

Why don't you just beat the **** out of him?

[Grennios]

Why don't you just beat the **** out of him?

That might work for the cartels in Mexico, but in the first world we have laws.

[JackTimQSR]

That might work for the cartels in Mexico, but in the first world we have laws.

Laws and morals, which is why I personally wouldn't stoop to his level. What he did was totally wrong though.

[CIAFreeAgent]

Get legal advice first, you should have had a shareholder and partnership agreement drawn up asap, friend or not, but that's no help right now. Speak to a solicitor that deals with business disagreements and explain you had a verbal contract with this partner and he's basically gone behind your back and pushed you out. Here's a good place to start. You have more rights than you think, even though nothing was drawn up.

If everything else failed, i would most certainly write an email to his boss, explaining how he's poaching his employees, using his contacts and even trying to poach contracts and ideas. This would be enough to get him sacked on the spot, which he deserves. If he thinks he can f*ck people over, then he should expect it to happen to him, you reap what you sow.

Finally, if you go to start up another business, get some advice first. There are many things you can do to stop this sort of thing, so even if you consider the people you are doing this with as friends, still get that shareholder/partner agreement drawn up and at the minimum make sure you mark any paper work you do with something like:

Copyright 2011 TheDigitalRob. All Rights Reserved.

EDIT:

Yea i just found this:

[/I]

So even without a signed agreement, you are still covered by the Partnership Act of 1890: Full Act.

Good advice and resources Iceman!

[MedicineForUs]

I have been around enough to know that I do not have a leg to stand on legally as far as getting a piece of the company or really anything back for that matter.

At this point my prime interest is not retaining anything from the situation but basically to make his situation fail.

To be perfectly honest: yes I was the brains behind the business/marketing side of things but the reason that the company was going to take off is because he would have been the face of the company and in the industry we are in thats huge.

Soooo that being said I know I cant continue with "this" company or "this" industry without him, I will go into something else...and be more smart about it in the future.

[DoctorDeryOne]

So basically you are letting yourself being stepped on again. [thumbdown]

[DoctorDeryOne]

That might work for the cartels in Mexico, but in the first world we have laws.

Was that really necessary?... I don't even know if you are serious or just stupid.

[MedicineForUs]

So basically you are letting yourself being stepped on again. [thumbdown]

No - I am not, I have decided to send his boss an email detailing his scheme of taking people as well as trade secrets and starting a new company with those resources. I will also tell him that hes only working for him for the next 6 months to get $$ together to support himself when he leaves. I will also suggest that his boss approaches them to sign a no compete and when they wont he will know for a fact I am telling the truth and HOPEFULLY fire his ass so that he wont be able to support himself and the company will fizzle.

This guy has a face in the industry...no money. If I take his padding away he will be forced to try and find another job to support himself. Hes borrowing the money from his brother in law "the investor" and when he sees he has no job he wont throw him the money I am sure of it because I know his mentality as well.

[DoctorDeryOne]

Ok that's a nice plan then [thumbup]

[Madjostok]

No - I am not, I have decided to send his boss an email detailing his scheme of taking people as well as trade secrets and starting a new company with those resources. I will also tell him that hes only working for him for the next 6 months to get $$ together to support himself when he leaves. I will also suggest that his boss approaches them to sign a no compete and when they wont he will know for a fact I am telling the truth and HOPEFULLY fire his ass so that he wont be able to support himself and the company will fizzle.

This guy has a face in the industry...no money. If I take his padding away he will be forced to try and find another job to support himself. Hes borrowing the money from his brother in law "the investor" and when he sees he has no job he wont throw him the money I am sure of it because I know his mentality as well.

On the flip side he can tell his boss that he had to kick you out of the partnership because you were trying to take over and steal his ideas. Personally I'd trust a long-standing employee than a random e-mail. The potential for this to backfire is enormous.

[MedicineForUs]

Also I have email trails of everything that happened because it happened via email. So his boss can see the entire situation if it came down to it.