If my principal place of business in the Maryland/DC area, but my LLC was established in Nevada, may a Maryland/DC court adjudicate the matter?
If the LLC is not registered in MD/DC, then it does not exist and does not have access to the MD/DC court system. NV LLCs are great for NV. They aren’t so good when used outside of NV. Since the LLC is not a legal entity, the members and managers are personally liable for any LLC debt.
It is possible to do business is a state outside of the state where the LLC was established.
My question is if the LLC was established in NV but my primary place of business is in a different state, must the person who is suing me, sue in the state where my business was established (NV) or can they sue where the business is located (MD/DC)?
Only if the LLC is registered in the foreign state. A NV LLC that is not registered any place else is valid only in NV.
They can sue where the injury occurred, where your business is located, where your business is registered or where they live. There is no requirement to file in NV just because it is a NV LLC.
Are you actually being sued, or is this just a hypothetical concern?
Just a hypothetical concern. I was told that a MD/DC judge would respect the corp. sheld and not heard the case and that it would have to be heard in the NV. A person that was tryin to sale me on the idea of est a LLC in NV.
What you were told is correct. The LLC doesn’t exist in a state until it registers in that state. You can organize an LLC in NV and then you must register as a foreign entity in every state where that LLC conducts business. That means an annual fee for every state plus the registered agent fee. Don’t forget NV requires a business license in addition to the annual fee.
There is no requirement to sue in NV for an injury that occurred in MD/DC. You will get sued and be responsible as if the LLC didn’t exist. I’m not a fan of foreign LLCs unless the LLC will do business in several states.
I have been using NV LLC for years. One thing you need to remember, an NV LLC does not need to reveal the owner. You should be listed as a member only. NV is a non third party sharing state and the owners are privilledged information. Only the resident agent knows the owner and does not share that information with anyone.
Also if your state does not have a state income tax you do not need to file in your state. I have been using NV LLC since 2004 in FL where there is no state taxes. Only one is listed with SUNBIZ, a florida site for corp and it is for credit reasons, Banks do not care and will open bank accounts still.
As for lawsuits, have not been sues by still told by my CPA and lawyer I am fine. NV is odd with lawsuits and you can request it moved to NV if you want and it be an arguement with the judge in chambers.
Other things to consider, putting your LLC into a trust fund gives more protection.
Members are owners. If you are listed as a manger and refuse to reveal the owner, people will just assume you are.
Property located in FL is subject to FL law, not NV law, and if your LLC is not registered in FL, you are personally liable for any LLC debt. The only time NV will take precedence is over an internal dispute among members.
yrush2000 writes:
“Other things to consider, putting your LLC into a trust fund gives more protection”.
Talk to me more about this. Putting the LLC into a trust fund? Or just a trust? An express trust which is not a land trust?
How would this work? I assume it’s not a title holding land trust, then it’s a what kind of a trust?
Putting the membership shares in an irrevocable, non-self-settled trust will provide more protection. Land trust and other grantor type trusts offer no more protection unless you consider avoid probate to be protection.
I think you can not access them in such a way. Any how take the suggestions from the legal advisers.