What to do if we signed a contract and wired a deposit to a vendor but the vendor failed to ship out the goods within the shipment date as agreed?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What to do if we signed a contract and wired a deposit to a vendor but the vendor failed to ship out the goods within the shipment date as agreed?

We gave the vendor a payment option to return the deposit but the vendor disregard and no communication afterward. The vendor’s company is a LLC company. We are worried even we file a lawsuit and have the judgment, we may not be able to get the deposit back. what should we do now.

Asked on July 25, 2014 under Business Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

Legally, you can sue: they would seem to, at a minimum, have breached the contract or agreement (even there was no formal written contract, by sending them money in exchange for goods, a contract to sell you those items was created); they may also be guilty, depending on the facts, of fraud (having lied about what they could or would do) or even conversion (a type of theft; if they deliberately stole your money).

But you identify the main problem: can you collect? It's not hard to collect from established, ongoing LLCs usually, though smaller, struggling, newer, or "fly-by-night" companies may not have any assets to pay and/or may simply close up shop if sued. If they are out of state, it is also more difficult and expensive to sue them to begin with. If there's enough money at stake that it's a "no-brainer" to hire a lawyer to try to get it back, do so; but if the amount is not enough to justify the cost of an attorney, as a practical matter, you may need to write this off. (Talk to an accountant; you may at least get a tax loss out of it.)


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption