I am in business as a DBA, 1 partner is going to buy me out.
Full Question:
Answer:
We cannot give legal advice. The following is not a substitute for the advice of a local attorney. But we hope the information will be useful.
You may have a case of service mark and/or trademark infringement against your former partner. Complicating this question is the fact that he was your partner and was also presumably using the mark (the mark being the name of the business). You may also (or in the alternative) have a simple breach of contract claim against your former partner.
For more details, see our information at these links:
http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/service-marks/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/t/trademarks/
You are in a situation where the advice of a local attorney is important. You need to consult a local attorney, meet, and discuss your options. You can scale up your efforts depending on your former partner's reaction to an escalating series of communications. For example, first you could ask your attorney to write a letter to your former partner, trying to resolve the situation. If that doesn't work, you could ask for another letter, this time more forceful and threatening to sue. Lastly, you could actually sue.
The letters will not cost you much, a lawsuit would cost much more. Contact a local attorney and schedule a sit-down with him/her to review your options and a way to proceed that will start out costing you as little as possible.
