Firstly, I would like to thank those who chose to donate to the Muehlbachs.
Secondly, in reply to Carla Thomann asking about the Muehlbach’s getting a settlement: Yes, I do believe they won a judgement against Lindley Builders, LLC. Unfortunately, a settlement is nothing more than a glorified IOU. It doesn’t mean that they have collected anything and as of the last report, the builder is refusing to pay.Â
This leaves the Muehlbachs with the option to get the sheriff to exercise the judgement, which is a function they will have to pay the sheriff’s office to perform and is unlikely to gain them much in return for three reasons: One, the sheriff will notify the debtor and begin an investigation into whether or not the debtor has assets. Assuming they do they can claim certain things as exempt. That they receive notification of intent to collect also makes it easier to hide assets.Â
The second problem is that the entity is an LLC and likely has been designed to have few, if any, assets. Unless there is an issue that can be proven, like fraud, the LLC will shield the builder from personal liability. One side note, in NC the primary home is often considered a marital asset and is also out of bounds for collection against one of the spouses.Â
The third problem is that it is very easy for the LLC to simply declare bankruptcy which would end the process, and then restart their business under a new name. NC is considered to be a very debtor friendly state. The only thing that would stop this, in NC at least, is if the licensing board decides to discipline the contractor and revoke his license. Â
Unfortunately, attempting justice through the courts is expensive, will easily run into tens of thousands of dollars and is unlikely to result in recovery. Honestly, this is one of the things that I find very shameful about the US. If justice and the courts aren’t available to all of the people, then there is no justice.
From: chathampatriot
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 02:31:33 PM EDT
Subject: Re: Gofundme for the Muehlbachs