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your opinions wanted

D

Dave Lawson

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I started a new threadbecause this has nothing to do with any of the other threads about Neil Gubitz.

As most of you know by now I took over the Snake Pit from Neil.

Now before I signed anything with Neil I was told by Neil the following:

1] The landlord kept liability insurance on the inside and outside of the building.

After talking to the landlord later I was told differently.

2] Neil agreed to a "no competition clause" for the Tampa bay area.


I have had several people come in here to get feeders for their reptiles that they just got from Neil.

3] That the store owed noone money.

Global distribution (magazines) said differently.
Neil had a thing where people would pay up front for their feeders and in return they would get a free one, well needless to say Neil left owing people tons of money for rodents that they paid for.

4] Neil and I agreed on a price for the contents of the store (no animals) Once he was paid he took half of what I paid for

This is the short list.

Neil is not doing good at the shows or on the internet so he wants the store back so to get it he has called my landlord telling him to get rid of me. Been telling people not to come here so on and so fourth.

People do come in here and see that I have de- bugged the place remodeled it and that I have great prices, But the biggest complement I get is that Neil is gone.

The reason for this thread is to ask you all what I should do about Neil?
 
NOT SURPRISING

Neil is not doing good at the shows or on the internet so he wants the store back so to get it he has called my landlord telling him to get rid of me. Been telling people not to come here so on and so fourth.
Click to expand...

You need some hardcore proof of this, statement from your landlord etc that he is doing this... which would be harrassment and probably a civil case if you can prove it.

I would also get the insurance matter cleaned up real quick.

It would probably be a GOOD idea to get some legal advice as well.

Just an opion!
 
Time For A Lawyer

You really need legal assistance at this point. The power of public opinion can do wonders for minor issues but your definitely in realm of legal action.
 
Dave,

Nothing verbal should have existed in the deal. That's why God (and his little angels, the lawyers) made contracts. Everything should have been spelled out: the inventory that was to be left on the premises, copies of the insurance and documentation of who paid for it, and certainly any non-compete agreements should have been in writing.

Did you buy the store on a handshake?

I'm certain this thread will get moved to General Business Discussions anyway, but what it comes down to is that whatever you have in writing is enforceable, whatever you verbally agreed on is probably lost.

If you don't pay for legal representation on the front end of deals like this, you normally pay twice the amount on the back end.

However, if business is good, and most people are thrilled that Neil is gone, I doubt he has much influence over people wanting to buy from you. You might want to decide if it's worth it to wage a battle based on verbal agreements, or just keep moving forward and making money.
 
Dave,

Well this is definitely something that should be handled with a Lawyer and not by a public forum. I like both of you guys but this is something that is serious.
One thing, I would be getting the Liability insurance corrected immediately if not sooner and then go from there. Was there anything in writing on the whole deal at all? While I can understand your desire of a no compete clause I am not sure what you can do. If he agreed to it in writing than maybe but other than that there is nothing that can be done about him selling as he is not a retail location open to the general public.
 
I would agree, Dave, legal counsel is a MUST at this point. And yes, if the agreements between you and Neil were verbal and not written out and notarized, chances are it's a lost cause.

I will say that non-compete clauses are usually fairly vague that I've seen. And are you sure the non-compete was that he would no longer sell animals period in Tampa, or just that he wouldn't open a competing retail store? It would be kind of stupid for him to sign an all-inclusive non-compete clause when his full intention after selling the store was to keep selling herps online and at shows.

On the insurance, I would get that knocked out lickety-split, as that is a VERY serious issue. Regardless if Neil was supposed to be taking care of it or not, it needs to be taken care of fast, quick, and in a hurry, otherwise it will be YOUR butt in the sling if something happens. So if I were YOU, I'd get liability insurance in there myself, NOW.

On the feeder issues that Neil left hanging, personally, I would give each and everyone of those people Neil's number and have them deal with him. I am not totally sure of the legal parameters, but those were deals made by Neil Gubitz, the former owner/manager of the Snake Pit, not by Dave Lawson, the new owner. Personally, I think deals made by Neil, need to stay with Neil.

If Neil is really telling your landlord to boot you out, then I would get a signed and witnessed statement from your landlord stating the instances that Neil has done this.

No matter what the outcomes of these leftovers are, though, I would just keep plugging along and making money if I were you, Dave. If the store is doing well and you have happy customers, just keep doing what you're doing.
 
I don't know, George. There's now nine posts to this thread, and you're the first one to bring it up in that light.

Personally, I think it ought to be in the General Business section rather than the BOI. Nevertheless, I think it was a ligitimate issue to raise, even if the answer Dave got was "go to a lawyer instead of a public forum."
 
Has anyone clued dave in to the fact that neil doesnt come here anymore. Its not like this thread could get any true answers anyway with only 1 side of the story...bad enough its even here on the BOI..Good/Bad guy posts or Inquiries here....Not More "As the Miami herpers world turns".....No offense meant, but its OLD!
 
I think he was just asking for someone to help shed a little bit of light on this issue....


I know that I've bounced things off of people to see if they had any good Ideas. Mostly because I'm a little to soft hearted. I don't like to see people get hurt. Maybe because I know in the long run everyone is Human and sometimes people get stuck in making bad mistakes, and they haven't figured out how to fix them.

I'd like to think over all that people are GOOD, and have good intentions. Sometimes greed or the want to get a head blinds us all. This is getting off the topic and If I get a warning I will understand. But I'm trying to see it from Dave's point of veiw.

Some people would call this DAMAGE CONTROL on Dave's side.

Thanks for your time

Christa Rucker
 
Sorry, but alot of us have read the threads between Dave and Neil and its just gotten way too out of hand on here...The original thread (to me) just seems like someone trying to get the last word on a pissy war that was waged along time ago...I think dave should move on, or if he must, start this thread elsewhere...Anyone else find it somewhat comical that Dave and Neil would do ANY kind of business with each other after living thru the whole "snake pit" soap opera??
 
George,

This thread very well may need to be on the General Discussion Boards. I am sure that Rich will see to move it there if he feels this is in the incorrect location. What I see in the original thread is Dave asking for some information on which way to possibly go with this. I can understand you reluctance to this because of the previous history between the 2 of them but your post on here are not doing anything but venting your frustrations. Like I said, if Rich feels this should be moved he will move it and say something to Dave regarding it.
 
Even if you just note it down on binder paper make a paper trail of everything you do in reguards to this. What you heard from your landlord and when, what , who, and when your customers are telling you about neil, no matter how insignifigant it seems, write it down with a date and time. If you ever go to court with this, it will help you. I've learned this from experiance and wanting to be the kind of guy who trusted what others told me. I got bent over pretty bad for wanting to be nice. Cover your ass cause no one else is going to do it for you.

I don't know either one of you but I do know this, people who have a habit of not telling the truth rarely change and start telling it. neil seems to have a history of backpeddling and changing his stories from what I've seen here on the board. Perhaps he's changed.

When money enters into a relationship there are really no rules that someone who is not 100% honest won't do. Just because you wouldn't do something unethical doesn't mean someone else won't.

I do agree that any deals neil made are wholly his. Since he is currently advertising on KS I would simply put anyone who has a problem with a deal they made with him in touch with him. Print out one of his adds with his contact info on it and give it out to your unhappy customers. Anyone who doesn't come back isn't a big loss anyway.

But, by all means, do what you think and feel is right. You've got to live with you at the end of the day.


Wes Pollock
 
Wow.
You know... :rolleyes:
Have to agree, seeking legal counsel would be your best approach. How about Judge Judy?
C'mon - it could be the "cou de' grais" (forgive my spelling) for the whole...... situation. Bringing something like this into public forum, (especially this one) only stirs the pot, so to speak... Kind of like CNN and FOX lately... Doh! Sorry, couldn't resist...

Good luck,
Liz

Elizabeth Craig
 
THIS POST IS

OF NO VALUE TO THIS SITE. If Mr. Lawson had any business sense he would have opened up his own retail business and not pick up someone elses headache. Especially Neils ! JERRY TRESSER
 
The Snakepit!!!

Dave,
Usually a landlord will carry insurance to cover the building only in case something happens to it. The renter has to carry insurance on the contents and liability insurance in case of injury.
The statement may have been correct that the landlord had insurance on the inside and out of the building because in case you did something to damage the building the landlord would be covered. You just would be out of luck as far as your store contents was concerned or if someone got injured for whatever reason. Thus you need seperate insurance for these things.
As far as the other things go. If I remember correctly, Neil was Incorperated (I seem to remember that from some earlier threads) with only his and his fathers names listed on it which would make them responsible for any debts incurred while Neil had possession of the store. As someone said earlier. Give them Neils phone number and send them his way. You are not responsible for his Corporations debt.
I'm sure, as others have said, that this will be moved to another forum soon but I thought I'd at least try to help a bit if I could.
Good luck with your problems and I hope that this thread stays on track and doesn't turn into another negative martyr mess.
Just my opinion.
 
For the record, this thread is in violation of the very first rule I have posted about creating threads in this forum. That is the one about including the name of the person or business the thread is about. By all rights I should just delete the whole thing. Dave has been on here way long enough to know the rules by now.

But since this has developed into a discussion about sensible business practices, I will move the thread to the General Business Discussions forum instead.
 
Dave an attorney is more then likely the best way to get this resolved. I hope you get this worked out & I hope that this isn't going to be Neils way back in here as it's been nice coming here everyday since he's been gone without all the drama in the posts, but I have feeling this post is going to get that drama brought back. I see this got moved to general discussions where it belongs (thank you webslave :eek:) Good Luck
 
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