The excitement of launching a business can be as overwhelming as the day-to-day demands of making the new venture work. At the outset, it can be difficult to imagine that a new product, vendor deal or client account could lead to complications that would put your personal assets or, worse yet, the personal assets of your loved ones at risk. This is the kind of nightmare scenario faced by business owner Nicola DiCosola and his wife when an appellate court affirmed a $1.2 million judgment against DiConsola as an individual.

In 1996, a licensing manager for Taco Bell attended a trade show and came across a cartoon Chihuahua dog character called “Psycho Chihuahua.” The manager expressed an interest in using the character for its marketing campaigns, but after numerous focus groups and extensive discussions with the creators of the character, Taco Bell decided not to close a deal with the creators of the character.