In this case, you’ll want a legal professional with a great deal of experience in contract disputes. You’ll also want to consider the potential defenses the other party will use. If you’ve had multiple breaches and did nothing in any of those instances, then there’s less chance you’ll be able to get a court to enforce this current breach either. One other matter to consider is how well you’ve enforced your contract in the past. If too much time has passed since the breach, there’s not a court in the nation that will hear your case. Part of that is knowing the damages and comparing those to the cost of litigation, but you’ll also need to assess other matters, such as how the evidence stacks up and whether you’re within the statute of limitations. If ADR doesn’t work, you’ll need to finalize whether a lawsuit is viable. A highly adversarial dispute likely won’t benefit from arbitration or mediation.ĥ. However, it typically requires some amount of cooperation from both parties. When handled well, ADR can be much faster than taking a contract dispute to court since you spend less time gathering evidence or sitting through lengthy proceedings. While it functions something like a courtroom hearing, there are fewer rules in place. The arbitrator makes a ruling on what should be done, often resulting in a settlement or other agreement. We’ve already discussed mediation, and if you haven’t already attempted it by this stage, this may be the point at which you’d want to do so.Īrbitration is more formal than mediation in that both parties present their cases before an arbitrator (or a panel of arbitrators). This is where ADR methods such as arbitration and mediation come in. If it appears that you have significant damages, your next step is to attempt to reach a settlement agreement. In such scenarios, you’re typically better off either resorting to ADR or dissolving the agreement. If the damages suffered are inconsequential, then litigation typically won’t be considered viable. Note that, at this stage, one of the primary purposes of assessing how much you might be owed in damages is to determine whether a lawsuit is actually worthwhile. Your damages may include outstanding payments, lost revenue from mishandled intellectual property, expenses from additional costs incurred and so forth.Ī court may also require specific performance, meaning the other party will be legally required to perform certain actions, such as making up missed payments or changing their processes to better conform with the terms of the contract. If it appears unlikely to reach a resolution through mediation, it may be time to start assessing how much you’re owed in terms of damages. The role of a mediator is to keep the conversation focused on a productive course and help each party reach a mutually agreed-upon resolution. In some cases, you might consider using a mediator when discussing possible options. For instance, if the breach occurred because of nonpayment, then arranging a payment plan can make sure you get paid while mitigating penalties for the other party. As long as both parties have the intention of preserving the relationship and seeing that both benefit, an honest discussion about how to move forward can have profitable results. Many contract disputes can be resolved by simply talking things out.
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