Litigation can have significant consequences on a business, impacting everything from its sales and operating budgets to its relationships and reputation. Unfortunately, the potential for litigation comes with the territory of doing business – it is almost certain that a business will be involved in a legal dispute during its existence. While every legal dispute has its own unique set of circumstances and complications, there are certain matters that arise more frequently than others in business litigation.
While the following list is not exhaustive, it includes some of the most common types of business litigation:
- Breach of contract – Business relationships are generally based on some type of contract. Contracts are formed in a variety of circumstances: purchase orders between a supplier and a buyer, partnership agreements, and leases of business premises are all examples of contracts. When a party to any of these types of contract breaches, or fails to uphold promises made in the contract, the resulting consequence may be a lawsuit based on the breach. This was a claim in our “Rambo Litigation” case which you can click to from our home page.
- Breach of fiduciary duty – A fiduciary relationship is a legal relationship of trust between parties in regard to business affairs. The person with the duty of managing the affairs is the fiduciary, while the party to whom the duty is owed is the principal. In business relationships, for example, one business partner may serve as a fiduciary to other business partners, or the chief officers of and directors may owe fiduciary duties to the corporation they serve. A breach of a fiduciary duty can cause substantial and often irreparable financial harm to principals.
- Fraud – Fraud lawsuits involve acts of intentional misrepresentation, deceit, or concealment of a material fact. In a business merger, for example, if Business A conceals financial information from Business B before the merger, Business A may be held liable for fraud.
- Interference with a contract – An intangible interest to every business is its relationships with other businesses. These business relationships are entitled to protection from interference by others. A cause of action arises when a third party intentionally tries to disturb the contractual relationship between two other parties. The plaintiff must establish that a contract existed between itself and another party of which the defendant was aware, that defendant’s acts induced a breach of that contract by the other party, and that plaintiff was harmed by the breach.
- Partnership disputes – Unfortunately, partners in business do not always see eye to eye on business matters. When a disagreement cannot be managed by the original partnership agreement, the dispute can escalate to a lawsuit and/or the dissolution of the partnership.
LEGAL HELP YOU CAN TRUST
If your business is facing potential litigation, it is critical that you contact an experienced business litigation lawyer who will aggressively fight for the best interests of your business. At the Law Firm of Peter M. Feaman, P.A., we use our knowledge of the law to generate solutions for your legal problems. Contact us today at 561-469-0019 for a free consultation with a top Palm Beach County lawyer!