If you are accused of breaching a contract, you could be sued in civil court. The plaintiff who files the lawsuit could seek actual damages, which are equal to the total losses resulting from the breach. The plaintiff could also seek liquidated damages if there is a liquidated damages clause in the contract, or could seek specific performance so the court compels you to follow through on your obligations under the agreement.
Read MoreCommercial litigation attorneys provide representation to companies when disputes arise under commercial or business law. If you are sued, or if you need to use the court system to assert your rights and make a claim for damages, an attorney can help you to navigate the civil justice system.
Read MoreIn today's world, and especially in business litigation, much of the evidence that is relevant in business litigation cases is in the form of documents. This could include emails, written memorandums, corporate records, accounting records, and a host of other paperwork that is generated during the course of doing business. All of the different documents that are produced that are related to the subject of the litigation could potentially have relevant information that is helpful to plaintiffs or to defendants who are trying to make their case.
Read MoreAn appeal is a request that a higher court review the decisions made by a lower court. Everyone who is involved in civil litigation as a plaintiff or as a defendant can appeal when an unfavorable decision is made. This is true in breach of contract claims, injury claims, intellectual property disputes, and all other types of commercial litigation.
Read MoreYou can file a civil lawsuit against an employer if you are treated different in hiring, firing, or the terms and conditions of employment on the basis of your protected status. Employers are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of your gender, your race, your religion, your national origins or nationality, your advanced age, or your disability status. All of these things are considered to be protected statuses.
Read MoreIf your business is sued, you must respond proactively to the lawsuit so you can protect your company from the risk of an adverse judgment. This means submitting an answer on time, preparing a defense strategy or strategy for responding to the accusations against you, and filing any appropriate counterclaims or pre-trial motions with the court. You also need to preserve evidence which might be requested in discovery, and begin your own investigation so you can effectively respond to any accusations made against your business.
Read MoreThe Judicial Education Center indicates that a “A breach is material if, as a result of the breaching party’s failure to perform some aspect of the contract, the other party receives something substantially different from what the contract specified.” Essentially, this means a breach is considered to be a material one if it gets to the very essence or heart of the agreement. A material breach happens when one of the contracted parties fails to do the very thing that the contract was created for. A non-material breach, on the other hand, occurs when the failure to perform was a minor one. The purpose of the contract is still in tact, the parties substantially performed according to the terms of their agreement, but something small went wrong.
Read MoreIf you determine a breach of contract occurred, you can file a civil lawsuit. If you can successfully prove an unjustified breach, there are different kinds of legal remedies which could be available to you. You could ask the court to order the other party to follow through on the agreement and comply with contract terms. You could also ask the court to require the breaching party to pay you damages. It is up to you to prove how badly you were damaged and to show the extent of your losses so you can be fully compensated after a contract breach.
Read MoreOne of the issues that can come up when a breach of contract accusation is made or when parties disagree on contract terms is how to interpret a contract and what the agreement terms are. This is especially important if there are any type of ambiguities or irregularities and the parties disagree on what the terms of the agreement mean. There are rules of contract interpretation that apply in these circumstances, including a rule called the parole evidence rule.
Read MoreWhile non-competes are common, they are also difficult to enforce in many circumstances. Non-compete agreements can sometimes be overly restrictive and can impede a person's ability to make a living. This type of agreement is not going to be enforced because it is considered bad public policy and an unlawful restraint on trade to make it effectively impossible for someone to earn a living in his or her chosen profession.
Read MoreAge discrimination is unlawful under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Employers are not permitted to discriminate against older employees in any of the terms or conditions of employment. This means employers cannot refuse to hire you, refuse to promote you, or force you to retire or take a demotion as a result of your age. Employers also cannot provide different benefits or job perks to workers based on their age.
Read MoreIf a tenant contests an eviction, you will need to go to court in order to get an order of eviction for the tenant who you want to force to leave your rental property. In many cases, tenants will not contest the eviction and the court will simply grant the order of eviction. When this happens, your only challenge will be to enforce that order. In other circumstances, however, the tenant might challenge the legality of the eviction and you will need to prove you have justification for evicting the tenant.
Read MoreLiens are claims on property for nonpayment. When a lien is placed on a property, the owner of that property can be affected in profound ways. A bank will not give a mortgage to a property with a lien on it, for example. This can be a problem if you are paying for a property to be developed with a construction loan and you need to convert that loan to a permanent one at the end of the project. If a mechanic's lien is put on the property, you may not be able to get your loan to repay the construction loan when construction is complete.
Read MoreA contract creates private law, and the parties to the agreement must abide by all of its terms. You are legally obligated to fulfill the provisions of a contract, just as you are obliged to obey any law which is passed by the government. If you fail to fulfill your obligations, the other party to the contract can use the court system to obtain a legal remedy, including compensation for damages.
Read MoreUnfortunately, shareholder disputes can arise frequently in closely held companies, as well as in larger organizations. When a dispute arises, the future success of the organization could be affected because the disagreement could hurt the company's brand, make it impossible for co-owners to work together, and result in a delay in the making of important decisions.
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