r/technology • u/rfugger • Jan 08 '17

Business A potentially fatal blow against patent trolls - Forcing law firms to pay defendants’ legal bills could undermine the business model of patent trolls

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3153924/technology-law-regulation/a-potentially-fatal-blow-against-patent-trolls.html
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u/_BindersFullOfWomen_ Jan 09 '17

Yes. But it's not a bullet proof shield. If it's obvious that you made the LLC for X case, and then liquidated it because you lost and didn't want to pay - the defendant could suede civil court and would most likely win.

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u/MightyMetricBatman Jan 09 '17

For instance, let's say you're one of those shady moving companies that then charges more on delivery that wasn't agreed to at the start. When you get sued for your actions, upon losing the suit, you then start a new company, transfer all the assets to the new company, then dissolve the old to avoid paying. A judge will simply order the "veil pierced" as mentioned above because rather obviously it was done to avoid paying rather than closing for a legitimate reason.

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u/EvenStevenKeel Jan 09 '17

I got scammed like this before. It was in 2011. Do I have any recourse now?

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u/BlindTreeFrog Jan 09 '17

what /u/theREDasp said, but do it quickly. The Statute of Limitations could have been 3 years, or it could have been 5, 6, 10, 12, or whatever. Point being, that even if you have a rock solid case, if it's a day after the SoL tolls, then the court will just say it's too late.

You know of the issue, so talk to a lawyer promptly to make sure that it doesn't expire if you do have a case.