Helping Businesses in the Local Community for Over 20 Years
As a business owner, the last thing you need is to be involved in commercial litigation. It can only distract you from running your business while hurting your bottom line. Yet, the fact remains, disputes over business transactions and business relationships frequently occur. That’s why an attorney experienced in commercial litigation is essential for your advice and protection.
Commercial litigation covers a broad range of issues. Typically one party fails to provide goods, services or payment to another party. Or one party does not live up to a contract and must resort to legal action in order to avoid further entanglements.
Here are the most common types of commercial litigation:
Corporate disputes typically involve two parties in disagreement over a contract, service or agreement. They often pose complex and challenging problems that require special attention. That’s because a corporate dispute can often be critical to the survival of the businesses involved. Small businesses are especially vulnerable. And no two corporate disputes are alike. Maybe it’s a corporation suing a shareholder for breach of contract or fiduciary duty. Or perhaps a businessman is in dispute over a purchase contract with a vendor. Or a company decides to take action against on an insurance company who refuses to pay a claim. All of these disputes present complex challenges that ultimately can be detrimental to your company. That’s why if you or your company faces litigation, or wishes to take action against another party, your first priority should be securing professional representation.
A breach of contract occurs when two parties enter into a binding contract yet one party fails to live up to its agreement. A breach can occur when a party neglects to perform its duties in accordance with the agreement, or does not perform at all. You may have entered into a contract with another party that has been breached, or you may have been wrongfully accused of violating a contract. In either case, you have rights to protect against a breach and the ability to recover losses.
Non-compete agreements protect companies against employees revealing internal trade secrets, customer lists or data and modes of operations to competitors. Non-compete agreements vary from one situation to another. And often companies over-reach or use ambiguous language when drafting their non-compete agreements. This creates confusion and gray-areas that can lead to litigation. An experienced non-compete attorney can determine who should sign an agreement… what aspects are enforceable… which portions are negotiable and, of course, determine the ramification for violating a non-compete agreement.
When a franchise agreement is signed by a franchisee and a franchisor it contains many agreed upon terms both sides must adhere to. These include things like royalties and fees, territorial and geographical boundary provisions and marketing and support commitments If one party violates any part of this agreement, litigation may be initiated. Cases also occur when one party believes the other party is participating or acting in a way that is injurious to its business.
A business has the right to demand accountability from their officers, directors and shareholders. When one party believes the company’s bottom line is suffering due to negligence, misconduct, fraud or breach of fiduciary duty of another party, a shareholder dispute case can often result. Minority shareholders can often find themselves at the mercy of powerful officers who try to impose their wills while suppressing minority opinion. This can also lead to litigation.
These disputes typically occur when one party fails to honor contractual obligations required by the other party. They can often be the result of highly charged philosophical differences between parties that leads to a breakdown. These kinds of disputes are the most common business disputes that face a company during its infancy.
Both tenants and landlords have certain guaranteed rights. Disputes occur when these rights are breached. Some can be resolved quickly with close examination of a lease agreement. However, many dispute areas are not covered in the lease and certain portions of a lease agreement can be subject to interpretation. A well drafted lease can avoid typical landlord/tenant disputes and save you a substantial amount of time and money.
As you can see, commercial litigation covers a wide range of topics and the above list is not exhaustive. If your business is facing commercial litigation keep in mind that cases can often be complex and time consuming, leading to unnecessary expenses for you and your business. An experienced attorney can help you come to a resolution quickly while minimizing damages. In addition, if your business feels it has been wronged by another party, an attorney can explore your case and determine the best course for resolution or seeking damages.
Commercial litigation cases can be extremely complex. The law office of Joseph H. Ostad can help. We’ve been representing both large and small businesses in commercial litigation cases in the Baltimore-Washington area for more than 20 years. When it comes to disputes, our firm has achieved significant results by aggressively pursuing negotiated settlements or to obtain large settlements that benefit our clients while preserving their financial resources. Unlike other law firms we always attempt to resolve our client’s disputes first. However, if resolution is not possible we won’t hesitate to bring the case to trial.
Our law office is dedicated to handling each step of the process professionally and with complete focus on you and your desired outcome. Please contact us today for a free consultation. You can call 800-320-0080 and talk to us directly or click here to contact us online and set up in appointment at our Rockville or Baltimore office