REI Wealth Magazine Featuring Paul Finck | Page 106
I
n order to understand “Inside Lawsuits” and
“Outside Lawsuits” it is first important to
ensure you know the difference between “Low
Risk Assets” and “HighRisk Assets”.
LowRisk Assets
HighRisk Assets
So, in the illustration, the submarine represents an LLC
(or Limited Liability Company). You are shown as the
driver in the green vehicle while an unknown thirdparty is
shown as the driver in the blue vehicle. In this example
you are driving a “personal vehicle” which is licensed,
registered, plated, titled and insured to you (ie. It is not a
company vehicle).
In the event you were rearended while driving on your
owntime and the other driver sued you, the “cause of
action” (or reason for the lawsuit) would be the
automobile accident. If the Plaintiff (ie. the person suing
you) won the lawsuit against you (as an individual) and
then attempted to invade assets owned within the company
(ie. the submarine) such an attack would be considered an
“outside lawsuit” because the cause of action for the
lawsuit against the LLC would not have had anything to
do with the business activities of the company.
Just like the torpedo is bouncing off the hull of the
submarine (above), when an LLC is attacked by an outside
lawsuit, the “Charging Order Protection” of the company
protects the assets of the company from a judgement
creditor. (Unfortunately an explanation of the “Charging
Order Protection” exceeds the scope of this article.)
Inside Lawsuits
Conversely, an inside lawsuit is where the “Cause of
Action” (or reason for the lawsuit) is directly related to the
business activities of the company.
LowRisk and HighRisk Assets are like oil and water
in that they do not mix! Why not? Because of the
difference between “Inside and Outside Lawsuits” which
is our focus today.
Outside Lawsuits
An outside lawsuit is where the “Cause of Action” (or
reason for the lawsuit) is not directly related to the
business activities of the company.
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So, in the illustration above, this LLC holds title
directly to three (3) investment properties, including a
fourunit building, a singlefamily home and a vacation
house. In the event that any one of these properties were
sued because of an electrical fire, or a water main broke,
black mold was found, lead paint was discovered or there
was a slipandfall, etc, the cause of action would be
directly related to the business activities of the company.
If the Plaintiff attacked the company assets in this
scenario, it would considered an “Inside Lawsuit”.