Is an employee liable for a company contractual obligation?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is an employee liable for a company contractual obligation?
I was a manager for a convenience store 5 years ago. While there, I signed a contract to lease out some POS equipment for the store. About a year later, the store went bankrupt. The contract terms for the equipment lease was for 5 years. Since my name is on the contract they are saying that I owe them the remainder of the months left and not the store. They have been sending me collections letters. Am I liable for these charges?
Asked on October 13, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If it is clear that you signed the contract not in your personal capacity, but only as a representative of the store (e.g. it's the store's name, not yours, on the contract; you signed as manager or for the store; the equipment you leased is clearly for the store and was not for yourself; etc.), then you should not be personally liable for the store's debt or obligation, unless you personally guaranteed it in some way. Therefore, you should check the contract, to see which parties were listed (e.g. were you, and not the store, described as one of the parties to the contract), how you signed it, and also whether there is any clause, paragraph, term, etc. which stated that the signer of the contract was personally guarantying or otherwise personally responsible for the obligation.
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.