Tilting the Scales

Business Issues with a Legal Slant

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By: Gray Reed & McGraw LLP

Blog Authors

Alex Fuller
Cleve Clinton
Drew York
Jamie Ribman
Bill Drabble

Latest from Tilting the Scales

Realizing last month that, at age 65 he’s ready to think about his family business succession plan – especially for Buxboro State Bank, Big Daddy Ernest Bux identified his checklist: Plan for Contingencies, Establish Goals, Plan Entity Structure and Transfer, Complete Estate Planning, Identify Decision Makers, Identify Successors, Determine Exit Strategy, and Implement Document Maintenance and Control. Must Big Daddy’s family business have a contingency plan for divorce to succeed?…
After several months of telling family and friends that his wedding venue business on Big Bux Ranch was for sale, Jeff Bux is contacted by his biggest competitor Hustler Plentee who also owns a wedding venue in the next town south of Buxboro. Hustler asks if Jeff will tote-the-note because his credit is maxed out at Buxboro State Bank, which is owned by Ernest “Big Daddy” Bux. Wanting to avoid a broker’s fee and an…
Earlier this year we covered how Jim Duncey, the majority owner and face of Duncey’s Caps, Inc., was involved in a car accident and arrested for DWI.  While the company survived the initial PR crisis, its bottom line did not.  Retail sales during the following quarter were down 20 percent.  One of the Duncey’s major commercial customers also terminated its contract that produced $3 million in revenue annually.  Things are so dire that the…
Just before her 80th birthday, Ernest (“Big Daddy”) Bux’s octogenarian Auntie Delusional (Auntie Del) died without a will or any other estate plan in place to give guidance to her husband (Uncle Tom) and their two adult children. “Who needs one?” was her retort for decades. And, “Wills are so over-rated.” Was Auntie Del right? Is a will or other estate planning really necessary?…
Mark Eting is one of Duncey’s Caps top outside sales agents. Because the company is based in Texas, but Mark lives in Cleveland and sells for the company in the northeast, Mark purchased a personal computer and a laptop to use for work purposes, but did not get reimbursed by the company. He did, however, provide the computer to Duncey’s IT department to install the company’s sales tracking program. Unbeknownst to Mark, the IT department…
Too old to trick-or-treat, too cool to stay at home with their parents and wanting some Halloween excitement, high school students (presumably 18 years old) Rosemary and Buffy head for Hill House, a new haunted house where the actors can touch the guests, separate them from their group and even force them down “secret” passages. Shelling out $20 apiece, Rosemary and Buffy sign a one-page form without reading it and step in to a terrifying experience…
Excited about closing on his new house, Furst Thyme Byer received emailed wire transfer instructions for his full $250,000 payment from his broker Chad at Chase N Rainbows Realtors. Complying with Chad’s instructions in the letter, Furst emailed Schneckner at Schneck’s Loans who wired the closing funds, as instructed, to what they both thought was In-O-Cent Title Company’s account. The next day, Ida at In-O-Cent Title called Furst looking for the money. Checking with Schneck’s…