What are a company’s rights to a customer list after bankruptcy?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are a company’s rights to a customer list after bankruptcy?
The company I work for was recently acquired by a new owner after the previous company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Our previous ownership recently sent out a mass email to our customer base, promoting a sale of product they still owned from us. Are they legally allowed to use our old customer history and data from when they ran our company or did they lose the rights to that after the bankruptcy and purchase by the new owners?
Asked on February 27, 2014 under Bankruptcy Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
Unless the customer list belonged to a parent or otherwise affiliated company or to one of the old owners personally--so that it was an asset of someone other than the company which has been acquired--then no, they should not be using the customer list. If it was an asset of the acquired company, it belongs to that company and its new owners.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.