Q: Am I liable if an unregistered association I belong to in Florida gets sued?
I am a member of a woodworking association in Florida, which is not a registered entity. There are no signed agreements for members, and I am concerned about personal liability if the association gets sued, especially in cases involving injuries from tools like saws. As just a member with no official role, could I be held liable?
A: An association that is not a registered legal entity (such as corp. or LLC) is not an entity that has the legal capacity to be sued - it's simply a group of individuals associating with each other, and therefore, there is potential liability for each and every individual that can be accused of causing injury/damage due to any act or omission of theirs. If some other member is sued due to an incident that has no connection to you, your supervision, or your tools, there should be no basis to assert any liability on your part. Of course, anyone can run to the courthouse, file a lawsuit complaint, and plunk down the filing fee, regardless of the strength, weakness, or downright frivolity of the complaint, and a lawsuit is commenced. However, that fact shouldn't dissuade you from being a member of your association.
Terrence H Thorgaard agrees with this answer
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