civil
Naming cause of action against business d/b/a/ &quot;business name&quot;
<p>Can a plaintiff suing a business d/b/a/ "business name" assert a cause of action as follows: </p>

<p>Count I Fraud 
(against "business name") </p>

<p>or must he/she state: </p>

<p>Count I Fraud 
(against "business") </p>

<p>A suit is brought against the individual or entity operating the business d/b/a the business name.</p>

<p>Hence, "Fred Lee d/b/a Creative Connections Contractors".</p>

<p>If the defendant is an entity you could bring a suit such as:</p>

<p>"General Motors Corporation, Inc. d/b/a Buick", although it would common practice to omit the d/b/a in the caption when there is a genuine entity involved, unless there is some ambiguity over which entity was really doing business as "Buick" (e.g. was it really "General Motors Corporation, Inc." doing business as "Buick" or was it actually "GMAC" a related car loan company doing business as "Buick", in which case the case would be captioned "De Luded, Fool v. General Motors Corporation, Inc., d/b/a Buick, and GMAC d/b/a Buick" and the complaint would state that one of the defendants in the alternative, or both of the defendants, acting together, under the d/b/a Buick defrauded the Plaintiff.</p>

<p>If you don't know who is behind the d/b/a many jurisdictions would not allow you to sue, while others would allow you to bring a suit such as "John Doe d/b/a Creative Connections Contractors" in jurisdictions that allow you to do that and then amend the complaint later.</p>
