Category Archives: Business Litigation
Drafting An Enforceable Arbitration Agreement
Whether it is a good idea or not to include an arbitration clause in your business contracts is an individual decision. You, along with your business law attorney, should consider your business, and weigh it against the pros and cons of arbitration, before making that decision. But once you’ve made the decision to require… Read More »
Will Your Case Get To Trial? Not If Summary Judgment Is Entered
When you file a business law case, you know you always have the option to settle the case. But if you don’t want to settle, your case will go to trial, where your case will be heard and decided by a judge or a jury. That is completely up to you, if you want… Read More »
Chewy.com Lawsuit Brings Up Unfair Competition Issues
In yet another example of how not to do business fairly and competitively, it seems that two online animal prescription companies are facing off in court over allegations of unfair competition. Once again, the lawsuit is a good example of the fine line between what can be fair and unfair competition. Two Veterinary Prescription… Read More »
Amazon Sued For Price Fixing And Collusion
Online retailer Amazon recently found itself in trouble for a business practice that the Attorney General in the State of Washington alleged was illegal. The program has since been shut down, and although your business may not be as large as Amazon’s it’s still worth looking at, as a lesson to how careful businesses… Read More »
Keeping Your Business Safe From Injury Lawsuits
If you have a physical property, you may give a lot of thought to keeping your business safe from lawsuits by employees, vendors, or from being sued for breach of contract. These are all very valid concerns. However, a lot of people don’t think much about keeping their physical property safe from physical injury—that… Read More »
Witnesses Must Have Personal Knowledge Of What They Say In Court
When you are in a lawsuit and present evidence in favor of your claim, regardless of whether your witness is live and in person to testify, or whether your witnesses will simply fill out an affidavit, your witness must have personal knowledge of whatever it is that they will say in court. This may… Read More »
How The Economic Loss Rule Could Limit Your Damages
As a general rule, when there is a breach of contract, the damages for the breach are in the contract. Sometimes they are explicitly stated, and sometimes they can be inferred–but either way, someone’s damages for a breach are limited to, and defined by, the terms of the agreement. Suing for More Than the… Read More »
Amending Complaints, And The Relation Back Doctrine In Business Law Cases
In a typical business law case, there can be a lot of causes of action for one set of circumstances. For example, if an officer of a company were to steal from a company, you could have claims for things like conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. This is common in law—there are… Read More »
How Do You Get Evidence In A Business Law Case?
In a typical business law case, there can be a lot of evidence that your business law attorney needs to gather to prove your case, or to defend against any allegations that are made against you. At trial, we always see lawyers with lots of paperwork, evidence, and witnesses. But how does an attorney… Read More »
Your Copyrights Can Expire. But When?
Let’s say that you create a picture, design, play, book, or piece of artwork—something that is eligible for copyright protection. You register for, and get copyright protection. The rights that come with that copyright protection are yours, and you can leave it to your heirs forever…or can you? Why Copyrights Expire Actually copyrights do… Read More »
Be Careful Of False ‘Made In America’ Claims
It seems like every day there is a new lawsuit related to false advertising or false claims. These lawsuits are a reminder to businesses to be careful what they say in advertising. New Balance Gets Sued The recent controversy surrounds show maker New Balance and claims that it is “made in the USA,” a… Read More »
What Is Antitrust Law And Should You Worry About It?
Could your business get in trouble for antitrust violations? You may not think so. Antitrust law may sound like something that large multinational companies get in trouble for. Or, you may believe that your business is too small or too “under the radar” to get in trouble for this kind of thing. But in… Read More »
Legal Considerations When Writing Letters Of Recommendations
Often, former employees look to you, as their former employer, for letters of recommendation. That former employee was good to you and a good worker, and you may be inclined to help him or her find new employment. Although you are encouraged to help others out, there are some legal aspects to letters of… Read More »
Getting Repaid With No Written Repayment Agreement
Although we know it’s not good practice, and not a good idea, it happens to a lot of very savvy business people: They end up loaning money to people, with no written repayment agreement. Perhaps the borrower is a friend, or a business associate, or someone you just trust will pay the money back…. Read More »
Non Disclosure Agreements In Divorces—For Your Business
If you have a business that deals in information that has to be kept private or protected from your competitors, you probably have loads of noncompete, nondisclosure or similar agreements. They are probably signed by your employees, contractors, vendors, or sometimes, your customers. But one person who probably has never signed a nondisclosure, but… Read More »
Business And Consumer Debt: Does It Matter Which Is Which?
To your business, debt is debt, it is money owed to you, and getting paid is an essential part of your business being able to operate. Why classify debt into what kind of debt it is? Consumer Debt Classifying debt matters because there are different rules that relate to how you can and cannot… Read More »
Tax Concerns When Choosing A Business Entity
When it comes to starting a business, there are a lot of different considerations, and many of the choices you will make are based on your preference—for example, based on how you want to manage your company, or how much involvement you want from shareholders, members, or partners. But many people form businesses and… Read More »
Piercing The Corporate Veil…Accidentally…
One of the great things about having a company or business is the protection from legal claims that you get. When the company gets sued, it is the company that gets sued, and the company that potentially owes a judgment—not you, individually. There are some exceptions to this corporate shield, where you could personally… Read More »
When Is Someone A Third Party Beneficiary?
In a typical contract, there are parties to the contract. The parties are the people or entities that sign or agree to the contract, and who generally get something from the contract. When the contract is breached or goes unfulfilled, either party can then sue to enforce the terms of the contract. But there… Read More »
When Can A Lawyer Ask A Juror Questions In Trial?
You don’t always get a right to a jury in every case, especially in business cases where contracts can often limit our right to a jury. In some cases, such as with arbitration, you may not even get to be before a judge or even in a courthouse. But when we do get before… Read More »
