LITIGATION AND DISPUTES
Unfortunately disputes are a fact of life and can lead to litigation which is the act or process of bringing or contesting a legal action in court for the purpose of enforcing a party’s rights or addressing a grievance.
Litigation should be viewed as a last resort. Other forms of resolving disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution) such as arbitration, mediation or negotiation should be attempted before the matter is litigated. Alternative Dispute Resolution is generally viewed as cheaper, quicker and less stressful.
Disputes often occur as a result of a breach of contract and/or negligence by one or both parties to an agreement.
We can advise on disputes arising from:
- The sale of goods and supply of services
- Consumer issues
- Comercial agreement
- Debt recovery
- Accidents
- Inheritance Act claims
- Wills
- Construction issues
- Landlord and tenant relationships
- Neighbour and boundary issues
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Partnership and shareholder issues
- Contract issues
- Product liability
- Intellectual property issues
- Professional negligence
- Agricultural and environmental issues
- Defamation
- Employment relationships
- Sale and purchase of motor vehicles
Before pursuing litigation and incurring significant legal costs it is always advisable to ensure that your opponent is traceable and solvent. Getting a judgement is usually the easy part but getting the money out of your opponent can prove far more problematic.
The small claims court generally deals with claims where the value of the claim is not more than £5,000. The winning party does not however recover their legal costs (other than expenses such as court fees) from their opponent in small claims. It is not therefore usually economic to instruct a solicitor although in cases where we are instructed we will do our best to provide clients with guidance and assistance at a cost that is proportionate to the value of the claim whilst the involvement of a solicitor can nevertheless be invaluable in resolving such a claim.