How Can I Cash This Class Action Settlement Check?

April 18, 2017 10:15 AM

Yesterday I got an unexpected check in the mail. The problem is, it is a class action settlement check made out to my LLC which technically no longer exists. Can I still cash the check?

Some time ago, I was informed that my (very small) company was a party to thisthis lawsuit., a class action filing against American Express for business to business telemarketing fraud. I filled out the necessary forms and never thought I would hear anything else from it. (Thanks for nothing, Ticketmaster!) In the meantime, the LLC dissolved and now I do all my business through an S corp. Yesterday, I quite unexpectedly got a three figure (!) settlement check from the class action suit. Hooray! I'm a hundred-aire! The problem is, the check is made out to my defunct LLC, not my current corp. Can I still cash the check? What's the best way to go about it?

Possible relevant details: 1) I can prove I was the president of the now-defunct LLC. 2) The bank where I would cash the check was the same bank that used to host the LLC's bank account.

posted by vibrotronica to Work & Money (6 answers total)

You will have to check the laws of the state in which your LLC was incorporated to be sure. However, generally, an LLC can continue to conduct business after its dissolution for the purposes of "winding up," which includes disposing of its assets and distributing them appropriately. The LLC's claim in the class action was one of its assets, believe it or not. You should still be able to cash the check in whatever way you did before for the LLC, and then you should distribute the money according to whatever method you followed in distributing the LLC's other assets.
posted by praemunire at 10:30 AM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Calling the bank is the best way to determine what hoops you may need to jump through, if any.
posted by bunderful at 10:31 AM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I did this exact same thing, but with a State issued refund check. The bank wanted a copy of my LLC paperwork showing I was indeed an officer of said LLC. That, and photo ID, was all I needed to cash the check into my personal account.
posted by Chrischris at 1:06 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I would sign the on behalf of the LLC and write "Pay to the order of Chrischris," and then deposit using an ATM to your own account. Most likely will go through and noone will care. Might bounce back, but I'd try that first.
posted by zeikka at 5:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the advice.

I tried to call the bank, but couldn't get a human on the phone. So I went to my local branch, stood in line for a while, and dropped the whole thing into the lap of an unsuspecting teller. This threw the entire branch into a tizzy. At one point, all of the tellers were gathered around, marveling at this mysterious check that had come in the mail. I had to explain the concept of a class action suit to one of them. Managers got involved. They Googled the case. They called corporate. At first, my teller thought I was trying to pull a fast one, but by the end, she was actively rooting for me. Eventually, the consensus was this: endorse the check with my name AND my new corp's name, followed with a d/b/a Old LLC's Name. They money is currently in my account. I'm going to lunch.

Thanks MetaFilter!
posted by vibrotronica at 9:08 AM on April 19, 2017 [5 favorites]

I love a happy ending!
posted by bunderful at 4:20 PM on April 19, 2017