It can be infuriating and overwhelming to handle a contract dispute on your own, especially if you don’t have any prior litigation or contract negotiation experience. You shouldn’t have to handle such a situation on your own. A California business litigation lawyer can assist you in figuring out the ideal course of action for your contract dispute. The right lawyer can also provide you with a step-by-step guide to handling a contract dispute.
Century Law Group, LLP, understands how difficult it can be to pursue legal action for a contract dispute. You want to be sure you are asserting your position with a solid legal team to back you up. Your attorney needs to accurately describe the nature of your dispute and work out the right way to resolve it for you. The right lawyer can make sure your interests and rights are always protected.
Step-by-Step Guide to Handling a Contract Dispute
Before you can move forward with a contract dispute case, you need to make sure your case falls under California’s statute of limitations for contract dispute cases. For written contracts, you will have four years from the date of the breach to file. For oral contracts, you will have two years to file from the date of the breach. You will have that time to consult a contract lawyer, who can then establish grounds for your claim, formulate a strong case, and file your claim.
Once you’ve done that, you and your attorney can start working toward resolving your contract dispute. Someone can breach a contract in numerous ways, such as failing to fulfill terms, not meeting the specified obligations, or just refusing to do their part after agreeing to it. The more serious the breach is, the harder it can be to resolve the dispute. Here is a brief step-by-step guide on how to handle a contract dispute:
- Consult a lawyer. If you are dealing with a contract dispute, the very first thing you should do is reach out to an experienced contract dispute lawyer and schedule a consultation. A contract dispute can be too much for you to handle on your own, especially if there is a lot at stake for your business. A good lawyer can figure out the right path forward and put together a plan.
- Review the contract. Once you have secured quality legal representation, you should present the contract in question to your legal team. They can closely review the contract and determine exactly how it was breached by the other party. When examining the contract, they can find any potential legal loopholes the breaching party may have used. They can inform you of your legal rights as the aggrieved party as well.
- Negotiation. Sometimes, the most effective way forward is effective communication with the disputing party and a sound negotiation. Our legal team can negotiate with the other party to seek a potential solution. Granted, negotiation may not always work out. The situation may escalate into litigation, and your lawyer can handle that as well.
Contract disputes are not uncommon in California. They are often resolved through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, like mediation or arbitration. For example, the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) reported that around 44% of their own disputes were resolved in favor of the provider and without having to go to court.
FAQs
Q: How Do You Handle Contract Disputes?
A: There are many ways to handle contract disputes. First, you should reach out to an experienced contract dispute lawyer. They can recommend multiple different ways you can attempt to resolve the issue. These include mediation, arbitration, or litigation if the first two do not work. The way you handle your contract dispute will be entirely dependent on the nature of your case and whether resolving it can be easy.
Q: What Are Three Different Ways to Resolve a Contract Dispute?
A: There are multiple ways you can resolve a contract dispute. Any one of them can be the right path for you to take. It depends on your case. Here are three of them:
- Sometimes, sitting down and discussing the issue can be enough to resolve it.
- Having an unbiased third party to monitor the negotiations can be a great benefit when trying to resolve the situation.
- This is similar to mediation, but it’s much more formal. The arbiter’s decision may be legally binding.
Q: What Method Is Generally Preferred to Resolve Contract Disputes?
A: There isn’t generally a preferred method for resolving contract disputes. You have to choose the method that ultimately works for you, and that may be different, depending on the situation. Arguably, the easiest method is negotiation. Sitting down with the disputing party and discussing the situation can often be enough to find common ground and resolve the issue entirely. There are never any guarantees, so if it doesn’t work, you can always try another method.
Q: What Are Three Steps You Can Take to Resolve Disputes?
A: There are many important steps you can take to resolve a contract dispute. The first is hiring a contract lawyer to work through your case. The next step may be to understand the conflict by having your lawyer look through the disputed contract. Another may be to work out a potential solution through negotiation or another alternative dispute resolution method. If no other solution resolves the case, you and our attorney can take it to court.
Reach Out to a Contract Dispute Lawyer Today
Dealing with a contract dispute can be a lot to handle. Understanding the various steps needed to fully realize your case can be useful when the time comes to seek legal assistance. The right lawyer can greatly improve the outcome of your case, especially if you are not entirely sure what to do next.
Century Law Group, LLP, understands how complex these cases can get. We can develop your claim, determine the right course of action for resolution, and protect your interests throughout your case. Contact us to speak to someone on our team about your situation.