I would like to know what the law says regarding partnerships that never legally materialized in a binding contract and the rights and recourses of the parties involved? Here is my story:
We purchased property with the intention of forming a partnership with another person, before papers were ever signed. The partnership was formed on a handshake based on a 50-50 profit split. Once legal papers were drawn up, this "partner" could not agree to the original terms, continued to change and introduce new terms (such as a 50% interest in the deal). He then told us he could not work with us and we were "free to work with someone else" (evidence in an email). We offered to pay him $4k for his services and now he is demanding over $12,000 (10% of the purchase price of the property) for his involvement in the purchase of this property, stating that we agreed to give him a 50% interest in the property, which was up for discussion among many other points at one time, but NEVER agreed upon by us. Keep in mind that there has been no capital investment on his end - only his time. He is also not a licensed agent or broker. Anyhow, we have emails to support our case, but he still intends to sue us. We'd like to figure out what we can do to protect our interests, our financial investment, and our sanity while this person moves forward with this lawsuit. Even though he may have no case, we can't afford to spend $$$ to prove it. We're just trying to improve our standard of living! Please advise!
We purchased property with the intention of forming a partnership with another person, before papers were ever signed. The partnership was formed on a handshake based on a 50-50 profit split. Once legal papers were drawn up, this "partner" could not agree to the original terms, continued to change and introduce new terms (such as a 50% interest in the deal). He then told us he could not work with us and we were "free to work with someone else" (evidence in an email). We offered to pay him $4k for his services and now he is demanding over $12,000 (10% of the purchase price of the property) for his involvement in the purchase of this property, stating that we agreed to give him a 50% interest in the property, which was up for discussion among many other points at one time, but NEVER agreed upon by us. Keep in mind that there has been no capital investment on his end - only his time. He is also not a licensed agent or broker. Anyhow, we have emails to support our case, but he still intends to sue us. We'd like to figure out what we can do to protect our interests, our financial investment, and our sanity while this person moves forward with this lawsuit. Even though he may have no case, we can't afford to spend $$$ to prove it. We're just trying to improve our standard of living! Please advise!
