Help! My ex-business partner and I got in to a tough argument that closed with us deciding to end the partnership. The partnership was an online business, which was quite successful. We own a domain, a heavily popular website, and have tons of users, not to mention amazing SEO that put us in the top 10 for a lot of really big adult-related keywords. Herein lies the problem. The partner has decided to basically lock me out of everything. I have a 1:1 copy of the content, however that's not the point. He has all the original items, including the domain itself. I'm not comfortable letting him keep any of it. I want to know, basically, what I should/could do to get my standing back, and if it comes to it, get the domain ownership back.
also notable is that he changed the WHOIS data, as well as the registration info on record with the host/registrar(same company), without my permission.
What do you have in the way of documenting the partnership? Is it worth spending tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees by suing them? If you don't have a prevailing party clause in a contract, you are more than likely going to eat those attorney fees even if you win. If this person is willing to work out an agreement, you could have him give you an amount that he is willing to pay for your 50% with the understanding that you have the right to purchase his 50% at the price he gives you. I would have an attorney draft up such an agreement and put the domain in an escrow before you accept the offer, or purchase their 50%.
We have a pretty standard GP agreement. There's a specific clause in the agreement stating if we end the partnership early, the business is to be sold and the profits split equally. There's nothing concerning prevailing parties.