Q: I'm a partner in business. One of my partners is threatening to dissolve the partnership and take over the business. What should I do?
A: You should seek immediate advice from an attorney who handles business litigation. Your lawyer can advise you on your rights and obligations as a partner. He or she can also advise you regarding immediate protective measures available through the court, such as a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.Ultimately, your attorney will advise and assist you in keeping your business operating and resolving the dispute. The attorney you select to help you probably can't be the one that assisted in the formation of the partnership, due to a conflict of interest. Be sure to provide your attorney with a copy of the partnership/joint venture agreement along with any other documents that might be relevant to the dispute.

Q: I've been contacted by a government agency because my dairy pond is leaking, what should I do?
A: First stop the leak. Allowing any amount of waste water to escape your property can be a serious criminal and/or civil matter. Jail time and large fines are possible depending upon the circumstances. Gather all prior written notices from all agencies that have contacted you about your pond and contact a lawyer familiar with such cases.The law is very strict in these matters and there are a number of state and federal laws that might apply. You need to work out a plan to fix any problem the agency perceives and plan with your attorney on how best to proceed with any threatened or actual legal action. As with any legal matter, you need to be completely honest with your attorney about all prior problems and/or violations.

Q: I recently had some work performed on my property. I hired a contractor who started the job, but he failed to complete it. What are my remedies?
You should seek an attorney's advice immediately to review your remedies. Those remedies could include sending the contractor a notice in writing confirming that the contractor has breached his agreement and requesting that the contractor immediately confirm whether he or she intends to perform according to the contract;filing a claim against the contractor's performance bond, if it is available; and finally, reporting the contractor to the State Contractor's License Board.

Q: I am a partner in a business, will I be personally liable for the acts of my business?
You should seek an attorney's advice immediately if you believe that your partnership business acted in a manner that could create liability. In that way, an attorney may be able to resolve the matter before litigation is necessary.Nevertheless, in general, a partner is personally liable for the acts of the partnership. Hence, you may want to consider forming a corporation or a limited liability company where your personal exposure may be properly protected.

Q: How can an employer protect itself from a wrongful termination lawsuit?
Although an employer cannot prevent a disgruntled former employee from filing a wrongful termination lawsuit, an employer can take certain steps and precautions to preserve information which will support their decision to terminate the employee. Most California agreements for employment are at-will rather than for a particular length of time. Employers in their hiring documents should include language where the employee acknowledges that his employment is at will and no other person has the authority to agree to different term of employment.

Good documentation of the employee's work performance is often critical in defending a wrongful termination lawsuit. Where an employer establishes guidelines for disciplining its employees, documentation of an employee's misconduct and action taken by the employer is important to support the employer's decision to terminate. A lack of such documentation may support the employee's position that the termination was wrongful, especially if the employee had received favorable job evaluations prior to the employee's dismissal.