Setting up an LLC with Multiple trucks

oy! my accountant says keep it simple.

and simple is...put the trucks on one company, then put a first position lien on the trucks.

Any claims would have settle the first lien holder before any others.

just a thought...

 

YOU CAN'T.

YOU as an officer even under an LLC has a liability that still is present as a responsible party.

As an owner, it is even larger.

You need to understand how the system works, each truck operating under its own LLC would either require a operate lease to a third party or its own authority.

Example one of my trucks gets into an accident with one of yours. I know there is negligence on your part (driver, office, what ever ...), so I sue you for direct damaged, loss of business, and include the driver's loss wages and medical expenses. In this I won't be only suing the one company but everyone who has finger printed the entire structure up to the owner. I will go after the officers of the company and the company assets just the same.

Your lawyer would tell the court that this can't be done because of the separation of the companies but there won't be a separation recognized by the court because I can prove to the court that your structure isn't there to limit your liabilities but to obfuscate your responsibility to pay on those liabilities based on the fact that instead of handling the trucks as assets for one company, you put one truck to one company to prevent liability bleed over and then had a third company manage it.

This isn't real estate where you can do something like this to contain a liability in say rentals but this is where the liabilities extend to management based on the responsibilities of management under the FMCSA regulations and the state laws.

there is also another issue with this, it allows more latitude with abuse of drivers and the revenue earned by drivers, you can abuse the way the loads are settled when it comes to a payout to the driver, soaking them with fees to the point you will give them pennies.

Before you even try to justify this idea, I've seen it before and even sued a company like this (example used) and won. So it isn't like this is just telling you you can't without legal experience behind me.

 

One company.

LLC won't protect you.

I would get a good lawyer who can walk you through the liabilities of the business, not just any one who can fill out paper work like a paralegal but someone who understands how to mitigate risks.

The problem is not going to be with any of this stuff, it is finding drivers you can trust. I've gone through a lot of drivers until I got my program for hiring down and follow it without deviating from it a bit.

 

Would you mind sharing your driver hiring program? I am having trouble finding drivers and owner operators that I can trust. They'll tell me one thing in the initial interview but when they Fill out the app it's completely different or there background comes back different then they said on the application.

 

They don't always tell the truth? Tell me it isn't so. LOL When you get outright lies, or lies by omission, just move on to the next. Ask questions that are just a yes or no answer.

 

Bringing on any owner operator might be difficult for the test drive. So far the owner operators that are leased onto me are out of state. I do a lot of phone interviews and background checks before I say yes.

 

I won't tell the entire process, but they fill out the app first, and sign a release form giving permission for the background check. this info is sent in for a background check which includes criminal history and driving background, among other things I won't mention. It uncovers all kinds of stuff like expunged records - I have yet to see something outside of sealed Juvenal records not showing up.

I do the app first so not to waste time, if they lie, it is usually caught at that time.

If it comes back to my satisfaction, then I or my manager will do a phone interview and then an employment check is done and then an in person interview is done with a road test. After that, depending on the company, they will either do a piss test or go to orientation.

I think the cost is about $300 for all of it.

This is the overview, it is a bit more detailed but it needs to fit your needs, this fits mine.

As for the in person interview, everyone goes through this, no malter what. These are contractors and after the road test, i or my manager will sit through a 90-120 minute contract explanation clause by clause to make sure they understand what's going on and by the end of that time they will have their package ready to take with them that gives them all the details of their part of the operation.