Business partner has locked me out of our business

[Syborg]

A few months ago me and my business partner had a small argument. A few days later I found myself locked out of all the company's resources, as he'd changed all the passwords and access rights. As the company is run entirely online I'm effectively frozen out. The partner has now started another, similar, business using the old one to advertise and sell our products. He's also took out a license with a major comic book publisher and is selling those comics through the new business and using our business's name and logo to do it. The original business is being neglected for the most part.
To complicate matters, the partner is based outside the EU, so I can't just nip around to see him. Our business is registered in the UK, but his other one isn't. The UK business is fully registered, and we have a signed partnership agreement.
I have tried to contact him many times without success. I've contacted the publisher but so far have had no reply.
I would like to take back control of the UK side of the business and freeze the bank accounts if possible. (He's the money man, so only he has access to them at the moment.) I haven't put any money into the business, but I have worked for two years with no pay to get the business started.
I need to either gain control of the company or get him to let me back in. Is this an easy thing to do, or are we talking lots of expensive legal action? I also need to get him to pay our company the royalties owed by the new company for use of IP. I'm presuming this is a much bigger problem?

 

[Newchodge]

Basic question. Is your company a limited company or is it a partnership?

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Did you sign any personal guarantees with the bank or other organisation?

Without spending lots of money on legal fees I doubt there is much you can do apart from right it off as a experience

If I was in your shoes I would send a registered letter to the bank, the accountant, the payment provider and the other partner stating that from this date you resign from the partnership and not liable for anything to do with the old partnership

It's up to you if you want to include any reasons, like the other partner is living abroad and refuses to deal with you, at best it might get the bank account frozen

Then use your experience to start again

 

[Syborg]

Thanks for your answers so far.
The company is an LLP.
No, I didn't sign anything other than the partnership agreement. I'm beginning to think you're right, Chris, learn my lesson and move on, but I don't want to give in too easily.

 

[pen2670]

Talk to @The Resolver he specialises in this sort of situation...

 

[Gecko001]

The partnership is still in place and you will have liabilities, but you will also have continuing rights as to how the partnership's assets are used, including any copyrights it holds or rights on designs that it produced. Your rights will continue even though you are not active within the partnership anymore.

 

[Bob Morgan]

Sounds like the 'Snake Pit' that is 'Comics' in The Philippines!

 

[The Resolver]

Freezing the bank account is likely to happen once you put the bank on notice of the problem (albeit being careful with the words chosen to not gift a defamation claim.)

There would seem to be a good claim against the other person for what he has taken from the company and for various breaches of his duty as a partner to do things only in the interest of the partnership business.

Whether court action is wise depends on how much value has been lost and how much cash is left in th eUK bank account Given he, and presumably other cash (from sales of LLP property) , is out of the country court action becomes more costly.

 

[Syborg]

Thanks for your reply Graham. I have two problems here. Firstly, the current earnings are tiny, but they're potentially huge. We're talking about a deal with one of the biggest comic book companies, one most people will know if you mention comics. Secondly, I don't think the other partner is going to answer any communication from anyone, thinking himself safe in his Ukranian hideaway.
I suppose I have two separate problems here. I should perhaps deal with the UK end first, and then see how it goes.
I'll contact the bank, but what should I say?

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I have broken up the partnership and would like to open a account in my name. The other member of the partnership has acted dishonestly in our dealings and now lives in the Ukrainian full time and leave it like that, from the sound of it you stand no chance of getting access to the account, so don't waste your time

 

[Syborg]

Quick update on this and a question. And yes, it's still ongoing. I had a letter from my business partner's solicitor last year (usual stuff, he's a paragon of virtue and I'm a borderline criminal) and then nothing until a few weeks ago. He's threatening to sue me because I damaged "his" business.
As it turns out, a relatively senior representative of a well-known comic book publisher has been forwarding emails I sent to him to my business partner.
Is this illegal, against data protection regulations, breaking copyright, or not illegal but not really the done thing?

 

[Chris Ashdown]

How do you know they have been forwarding your emails or more likely just a summary of what you have complained about.
One would be against the GDPR rules the other depends on what was stated, something like "we have had a complaint from someone claiming to have a interest" would i doubt break the rules, but naming you most definitely would

 

[Syborg]

There's no doubt the emails were either forwarded or quoted wholesale, naming the source, unless my business partner hacked the guy's account. The letter from his solicitor clearly states where the information came from, naming the original recipient specifically. He also quoted some of the actual words and phrases I'd used in the emails.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

I wonder what the other side of this story is like!

 

[Syborg]

As it's been so long since the partner paid any attention to the business, companies house are now dissolving it (First Gazette). Is there anything I can do at this point, or should I wait until it's dissolved?
The company owns the rights to some IP I wrote, and it's really only this I want back. What happens to IP once it goes to Bona Vacantia and the Crown decide it's worthless and they don't want it?

 

[Lisa Thomas]

You could object to the dissolution.

Post dissolution I would think you can approach Bona Vacantia to buy it back.