Former business partners now engaged in business litigation

Entrepreneurial partnerships are often risky business. California business owners who take on partners are wise to write out the terms of their agreements in a thorough and well-defined manner. It is also a top priority to make certain that any and all who are signing a partnership contract clearly understand the obligations and responsibilities set therein. If a partner breaches an agreement, business litigation may result.

That's the gist of an ongoing situation in another state. Two men worked together in a company they co-launched, called Smashing Boxes. Sometime later, the company entered a contract with another business known as Futures. It seems that Futures hired Smashing Boxes to develop and deploy a mobile job search application and also to design its new website.

The contract between the two companies reportedly included a clause that stated that Futures could not engage or employ Smashing Boxes employees for two years. The latter has since filed a lawsuit against the former, claiming that it lost one of its co-founders and key employees when he went to work for the defendant. The claim also states that before jumping ship, the former Smashing Boxes employee was working closely with Futures on the special project and thereby was a causal factor to a contract breach when he kept assuring his Smashing Boxes co-owner that Futures would make good on outstanding payments when, in fact, he knew all the while that the company did not have the resources to do so.

As often happens in business litigation situations, Futures has adamantly denied the allegations Smashing Boxes has submitted to the court. Most California business owners rely on experienced litigation attorneys to help protect their interests in such circumstances. Contracts law is complex and there is usually too much at stake to try and resolve any ongoing issues without professional representation.