The thought of going to court to settle a business matter can be overwhelming. Generally this type of business dispute can take a great toll on your business, and some companies never return to the pre-law dispute status. Business ligation could be between business partners (click here read our blog on business partnership agreements), business-to-business, business to customer, or customer to business. If you are in San Diego and have a business litigation dispute, this is a blog post you must read.
Not knowing how long the litigation legal process will take or how much the business dispute will ultimately cost you comes with the territory. Unfortunately for both areas of concern, there will never be exact clarity before the matter commences in the prelaw and actual court proceedings. We want you to understand the reason for the variation in business litigation dispute costs.
Reasons for Varied Costs in Business Litigation Disputes
Understanding the variables that impact business litigation disputes is very, very important. You need to carefully consider all facets of the dispute litigation process before you move ahead with the legal matter. You should set up a consultation with Webb and Bordson, APC before you proceed. Some examples of why dispute costs will vary:
Your lawyer can only control you and your end of the proceedings. Your lawyer will have an educated and experienced estimate regarding how the other team¹s legal group will respond, but there are no promises in law. Therefore, plans for each possible response has to be considered, created, and implemented. Having more plans for every possible scenario is a smart attack plan, but the time and effort to develop each of these avenues can be quite costly. Going back and forth from legal team to legal team with various legal papers and responses can bankrupt a company.
Every single business litigation dispute case is unique to itself. The people, conditions, reasons for dispute, legal team, experts, and judges are all specific and singular to each business dispute litigation. There is no way to control these variables with absolute security. If the case ends up going to court rather than settling in mediation or settlement conferences, the cost increases dramatically. Take into account what the judge may want also. The judge may mandate the mediation, may require many hearings, may require multiple written briefs, or there may be further investigation and interviews on your end. Additionally, if your business dispute case needs a legal and certified expert to prove or validate your point and consequently your case, you may be talking thousands of dollars for their time and their expert opinion. Also, imagine the cost you could incur if you need several experts for your court case.
Various Types of Business Disputes
- Internal ownership disputes
- External ownership disputes
- Non-compete agreements
- Breach of contract
- Contract settlements
- Fraud
- Patent or Trade mark infringements
- Bidding and cost discrepancies
- Partnership concerns
- Death of a partner
- Selling your company
- Dissolving a partnership
- Business bankruptcy
Various Phases of the Actual Legal System
Webb and Bordson, APC knows that these business dispute litigation proceedings may be unchartered waters for you. Do not worry; we are here to help you handle this matter. We want to take care of you, give you our expert knowledge, keep your costs at a minimum, and provide you the means and professional team to win and settle your business litigation issue. We want to do the work; you can worry less knowing you are in good hands.
- The Research/Complaint Phase: We will meet with you to gather information and decide on a direction. After this particular phase we will determine how to move successfully to the Discovery Phase.
Approximate Fee Range: 4-10 hours
- The Discovery Phase: We will draft a written discovery to present to the other party. We will provide discovery responses as needed to other party involved in the dispute. Together we will review and consider the materials we discover.
Approximate Fee Range: 10-20 hours on top of 5-12 hours per each needed deposition (plus court reporter cost)
- The Motion For Summary Judgment: We will proceed to draft a motion for the summary judgment or memorandum opposing summary judgment. A Summary Judgment is basically a trial that takes place on paper. A Summary Judgment is only allowed by the court system when you are deemed correct about the concerned law and that both sides of the business litigation dispute agree about the facts of the case.
Approximate Fee Range: 15-25 hours
- Trial Phase: If the business litigation dispute goes to court, there is no way to determine how long the case will last or how much it will ultimately cost.
Approximates Fee Range: Thee is no way to determine this range.
- Appeals Process if Needed: Once the court case is over and the judge has placed his ruling, there is room for either side to appeal his ruling. Your business litigation case could go into the appeal phase.
Approximate Fee Range: There is also no way to determine this cost or the length of this process. It can be similar to starting over again, so be prepared to go through some of the initial phases again.
The business ligation process is much more complex than what was explained in his blog post. Consider this blog a layman’s guide to awareness concerning the varied and different parts of a business litigation dispute and legal case.
Placing your case in our hands can relieve the pressures of this lengthy and often costly process. Turn to the team who can give you the business dispute litigation results that you want.
