What is my Liability here? Legally Speaking? Indian Law Related.?

Question

I act as an agent in helping put together a deal between two companies. The two companies sign a contract where one buys a product from the other. I AM NOT A SIGNATORY TO THIS CONTRACT. My role is purely to bring the two companies together where I know one of them needs what the other is offering. If either of them default on their obligation to the contract -i.e, one accepts the product and does not pay OR one pays but does not receive the promised product - am I in any way liable to the affected company??

I have acted in good faith and do not have any knowledge or inclination that one of the companies was going to default on their contractual obligation.

While I havent signed any contract per say - there is enough email correspondence to establish that I was a part of the negotiation process between the two companies in my role and capacity as an agent.

Please let me know what my legal / financial liability will be in such a circumstance.

Answer 1

I am not an attourney but I am in business so here is my take on this: The written agreement is betwen the two parties and not you and they are responsible to each other in the deal. As an agent you are paid based on the agreement or agreements you have made with the two parties ..that is your only involvement, so you should in theory have no other responsibility to these parties, BUT you really need to PUT THIS IN WRITING as part of you agreement with the two parties involved so that you can protect yourself..

That being said, if this is a case that has already happened and you are in the middle of a conflict then you will need to approach this in another way. The fact of the matter anybody can sue anybody. The injured party can sue you even if you did not sign the agreement and you feel you are not involved .. The person suing you is going to have to convince a judge or jury that somehow you are liable. If this is a large sum of money and you are being sued I highly recommend that you contact a good lawyer NOW, unless you feel confident you can defend yourself in court. If your "agent agreement" disclaims anything more than bringing the parties together then you should be fine in court IF you can clearly present your case (otherwise get a lawyer .. I have seen people with good cases LOOSE because they could not clearly explain their case to the judge!)

If you did not financially benifit from the transaction then you will be in a better position than if you did. Also if the injured party is somehow able to make the case that you KNEW that the other party was not able to fulfill their obligations but you persued this anyway you may have a problem. If we are talking about a lot of money GET AN ATTORNEY ... call the state bar association if you don't know who to call..

Answer 2

no signature on the contract therefore no liability, the fact that you were party to negotiations is irellevant-you are not party to the obligation.