Question for the group

Question for the group

Beth C	12/23/2004 7:45:54 AM
I recently signed an agreement to dissolve a business partnership. The agreement states that I will no bring civil and criminal charges related to any business dispute against my former partner. However, what prompted the dissolution was an incident where he entered the store with a hammer and threatened me. I ran for my life. The police was called and he was arrested after a long barricade. (The man turned out to be quite a psycho and an absolute control freak - I had no idea he was that way - but I needed his capital). The official charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The trial is scheduled for next month. Now his lawyer is saying I cannot testify at trial based on what the clause in the partnership dissolution says. My lawyer is saying the criminal case is between my former partner and the state, and I am free to testify as a witness for the state. What do you all think? Does "business dispute" mean only "business" matters like accusations of fraud, etc.? I do want to testify against him, because he did commit a crime. The guy is going around town bragging he's free and clear, and what happened was a lie I made up. (There was a customer in the store but she ran out as soon as she saw the hammer.) Thanks, Beth



"McGyver"	12/23/2004 5:51:47 AM
"Beth C" <beth_c38@NOSPexcite.com> wrote in message news:34ils0h5rh3kmrtsn18p250ue7jd7uqab7@4ax.com... I recently signed an agreement to dissolve a business partnership. The agreement states that I will no bring civil and criminal charges related to any business dispute against my former partner. However, what prompted the dissolution was an incident where he entered the store with a hammer and threatened me. I ran for my life. The police was called and he was arrested after a long barricade. (The man turned out to be quite a psycho and an absolute control freak - I had no idea he was that way - but I needed his capital). The official charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The trial is scheduled for next month. Now his lawyer is saying I cannot testify at trial based on what the clause in the partnership dissolution says. My lawyer is saying the criminal case is between my former partner and the state, and I am free to testify as a witness for the state. What do you all think? Does "business dispute" mean only "business" matters like accusations of fraud, etc.? I do want to testify against him, because he did commit a crime. The guy is going around town bragging he's free and clear, and what happened was a lie I made up. (There was a customer in the store but she ran out as soon as she saw the hammer.) Assuming your post is an accurate paraphrase of the words used in the agreement, testifying will not violate the agreement. You did not agree not to testify. McGyver



Beth C	12/23/2004 8:18:20 AM
On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 05:51:47 -0800, "McGyver" <Greyprof@msn.com> wrote: "Beth C" <beth_c38@NOSPexcite.com> wrote in message news:34ils0h5rh3kmrtsn18p250ue7jd7uqab7@4ax.com... partnership. The life. barricade. (The freak - I official the the am "business" The but Assuming your post is an accurate paraphrase of the words used in the agreement, testifying will not violate the agreement. You did not agree not to testify. McGyver The exact wording in the agreement is the parties "will not bring any civil or criminal charges relating to any business dispute"... Although he wouldn't admit it, I think my lawyer overlooked the "or criminal" phrase, which was inserted by the other lawyer - but wasn't highlighted in the markup - for a purpose. Thank you. Beth



"Richard"	12/23/2004 8:37:16 AM
Beth C wrote: The exact wording in the agreement is the parties "will not bring any civil or criminal charges relating to any business dispute"... Although he wouldn't admit it, I think my lawyer overlooked the "or criminal" phrase, which was inserted by the other lawyer - but wasn't highlighted in the markup - for a purpose. Thank you. Beth PARTIES. That means neither he nor you will bring any "new" charges against the other. I will assume this agreement was signed AFTER the formal criminal charges were filed against him. Therefor, that is something NOT covered by the contract. Unless the contract specifically states you may not testify in any current cases, then that would most likely be an illegal contract. What his attorney told you about not testifying is a scare tactic. You are a witness for the state and MUST testify, if you don't, you could be charged with perjury and/or other items. Your faiure to testify would mean he's free to go off and do it again. Need legal advice? Hire an attorney. This discussion group does not imply true legal advice, merely a discussion forum open to the world. I am not an attorney. I do not give legal advice. Only opinions.



newsgroups01REMOVEME@intertainia.com	12/23/2004 12:16:49 PM
On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 08:18:20 -0600, Beth C <beth_c38@NOSPexcite.com> wrote: On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 05:51:47 -0800, "McGyver" <Greyprof@msn.com> wrote: The exact wording in the agreement is the parties "will not bring any civil or criminal charges relating to any business dispute"... IMHO, Brandishing a deadly weapon isn't a business dispute, unless you work for the mob. Even so, a victim cannot be forced to 'give up' their right to justice and life. Besides, it's the state that is initating the charges against your partner for his crimes, not you. As for the business thing, well it probly wasn't overlooked, but is a standard clause for some disolutions(even for some employements). Typically you have to have recieved something in return for giving that consession(for employments, this usually means severence pay). Example, if you agree to something, it must be for something. If you just agreed for the heck of it, then you had a bad lawyer and the clause might not be enforcible by your partner. I'm guessing that your partner has assumed all rights and responsiblity/liablities of the business for your to agree to no criminal or civil business based suits against him. Meaning you have no responsibity of past liablities, but he gets a 'get out of jail' free card from you. Make sense? Not a bad deal, imho, just that when you are summons to the court, and you tell the DA about the contract's clause, he will tell you the truth, and if you still refuse to testify for the sate based on that personal business agreement, have fun in jail. Get some soap on a rope, btw. :-P Disclaimer, not a lawyer, just expressing my options based on experience with past business and criminal matters. later, tom @ www.FreelancingProjects.com Although he wouldn't admit it, I think my lawyer overlooked the "or criminal" phrase, which was inserted by the other lawyer - but wasn't highlighted in the markup - for a purpose. Thank you. Beth



"MrPepper11"	12/23/2004 9:26:43 AM
Richard wrote: Beth C wrote: Unless the contract specifically states you may not testify in any current cases, then that would most likely be an illegal contract. What his attorney told you about not testifying is a scare tactic. You are a witness for the state and MUST testify, if you don't, you could be charged with perjury and/or other items. Your faiure to testify would mean he's free to go off and do it again. This interpretation is correct. If the purpose of the clause was to avoid criminal prosecution (and thereby obstructing justice) then the contract is called a void contract. Not even voidable, just plain old VOID because it was entered into for an illegal purpose. People have tried to insert similar fine print in a marriage dissolution to avoid spousal battery charges. Doesn't work - because it's freaking ILLEGAL.

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