Nowadays, a lot of people get involved in class-action lawsuits to settle their differences with a company or the state, when they claim they have been harmed physically or financially in some way. By definition, class-action lawsuits represent a number of people who have decided to bring a matter to court pursuing the same goal, basically to be financially reimbursed for the loss they have had due to a company’s (or the state’s) wrongful actions. However, in some cases, such as antitrust lawsuits, both firms and consumers may be harmed as a result of the same claimed violation. In that case, because businesses face different economic consequences than consumers, your company may need to treat class-action litigation differently. Let’s take a look at some instances when it’s probably worth filing a suit.
A Breach of Contract
A “breach” of contract occurs when one party fails to perform any of its contractual duties deriving from the contract. These include the terms of the agreement, bringing results in the specified deadline, or even the total absence of action from the other party, depending on the circumstances, of course. If that is the case for your company, then you might want to have the contract enforced according to its terms, or seek compensation from the other party for any financial losses incurred as a result of the purported violation.
If informal attempts to resolve a contract disagreement fail, the most typical next step is to file a lawsuit. You may be able to settle the dispute with the other company in small claims court if the amount in dispute is below a predefined figure (depending on the State). Sometimes, you can agree to have a contract disagreement reviewed by a mediator or to have a contract issue resolved through binding arbitration. Other times though, you may have to resort to filing a lawsuit for “payment of damages”. The most common damages include “Compensatory”, which are intended to put the non-breaching party in the same situation as if the breach had not occurred, and “Punitive”, which are payments that a breaching party is required to provide in excess of what would completely recompense the non-breaching party, “Nominal” which are paid only when the damage is small and no actual money can be proven and “Liquidated”, which are a fair approximation of the actual damages that could occur as a result of the breach.
These are all very useful legal tools that you can use to receive compensation from another company (or an individual) that has breached their contract with you in any way and so, you should seek out the best law firm who can undertake this type of case.
Consumer Finance And Consumer Protection Litigation
Some financial organizations use their power to intentionally damage consumers and profit themselves. Most customers have little means to try and get even or attempt at safeguarding their financial future. Litigation is a significant tool for forcing these organizations to develop appropriate procedures to redress consumer harm.
This powerful legal tool can also be used by small companies that have been affected adversely by these large institutions. With a reliable Fair Credit Reporting Act Lawyer by your side, it is much easier to effectively fight back. Just make sure to find someone who is properly experienced with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and who will potentially recover even significant sums of money for damages that your company has incurred.
Collecting Damages or Preventing Ongoing Damage
Another case for filing a lawsuit is when your company has damages incurred by the actions of an individual. These damages may simply be the result of the individual defaming your firm, causing an infringement on your intellectual property, or failing to fulfill a contract, as we described in the first paragraph. If it is easy to locate the individual (because they might have left the state), then you must first consider if it is worth filing the lawsuit. That is if it’s worth the time, worry, and money if your organization has sustained minimal damages or if proving your damages is challenging.
To be successful in a case, your company must have sustained genuine financial losses, such as lost income owing to the unauthorized use of your intellectual property, financial losses due to reputational damage, or attempted fraud.
It’s one thing to obtain a judgment; it’s another to collect on it. You might not be able to collect the money you’re owed if the defendants have few or no assets. Another reason having an attorney on your side is vital is that they can investigate the individual you wish to file a lawsuit against and determine if they have the required financial capacity that will allow them to compensate you.
Suppose you finally reach the conclusion that the damages are significant and you think the individual is wealthy enough to pay for the damages. In that case, it stands to reason that filing this type of lawsuit can turn out to be beneficial to your company, as not only will you be compensated for the actual financial losses, but you will probably receive a large amount of money for the unauthorized use of your intellectual property or damage to your reputation.
As you can see, there is a wide variety of legal tools at your disposal should you decide it’s the right time to file a lawsuit, defending your company. As long as you’re willing to withstand the economic and psychological burden that this procedure could entail, especially in regards to your budget, as well as the time you will have to wait for the courts to reach a decision.
It’s up to you to hire the most suitable and experienced lawyer (or law firm), who will bring the matter to court. Don’t forget: the higher the damage to your company, the bigger the rewards will be for you in the end. Besides, most legal disputes never reach a court of law, because usually, companies (or individuals) want to settle to avoid the bad publicity which will follow this kind of suit. One’s reputation is probably the most important thing in today’s society, after all, don’t you think?