Running a business is complicated. Aside from day-to-day operations, payroll, tax obligations, and tax compliance, a business often has to deal with legal issues including lawsuits, disputes, and more. This is where commercial litigation comes into play. This specialized area of law deals with lawsuits involving at least one business entity such as a partnership or corporation.
Is your business dealing with some legal trouble? Or are you looking to sue a business for wrongdoing? Here’s what you need to know.
Find a specialized commercial litigation lawyer in Michigan by calling Kecskes, Gadd & Parker at 734-354-8600.
What Exactly is Commercial Litigation and Why Does it Require a Specialized Attorney
Every area of law is different and has its own complexities. Commercial litigation, as stated above, is a section of the law that deals with a commercial entity involved in a legal dispute. They are either seeking compensation or defending a lawsuit against an individual or other commercial entity.
Commercial litigation has similarities and differences from traditional litigation, and—depending on the circumstances—requires specialized legal counsel.
How is Commercial Litigation Different from Traditional Civil Litigation?
Civil litigation is a legal dispute between individuals where there are no criminal charges involved. For example, probate law, family law, or contract law fall under the commercial litigation category.
During a commercial litigation case, you can expect the following:
- They do not involve criminal charges
- The process is similar in terms of the attorney conducting research and pursuing discovery, investigation, etc.
- Attorneys compose draft letters and arrange for negotiations, settlements, or file suits
- There are pre-trial motions involved to present the case in court before a judge and jury
Commercial litigation differs from traditional civil litigation in the following ways:
- It involves one or two business entities
- The action may be valid in federal court
- It may be a class-action lawsuit
- Many commercial litigation cases involve technical or industry-specific contracts or breaches
What are Common Types of Commercial Litigation?
Commercial litigation is a broad category of law that includes many different types of cases. Cases under this legal category include:
- Breach of business contract
- Disputes between partners or board of director members
- Privacy or data breach
- Disputes among shareholders
- Copyright infringement
- Trademark infringement
- Environment concerns
- Insurance-related claims
Most Common Types of Cases
So what are some of the most common types of cases we see in the commercial litigation sphere? While it varies from year to year, below is a list of frequently seen disputes among business entities and individuals.
- Intellectual property disputes. In the digital age, intellectual property disputes are very common types of cases. These cases involve patents, trademarks, domain names, copyright, and even trade secrets.
- Breach of contract. Business entities commonly go into contract agreements with other entities, individuals, contractors, or companies. When one party neglects the term of the contract, businesses might find themselves with a legal dispute on their hands. A breach of contract case means that defined contract terms were broken without any legal justification.
- Data breach cases. As our use of technology increases, data breach litigation has become more common. If a company fails to protect its customers’ information and fails to inform the parties involved, it can be grounds for a lawsuit. This happens when a company is cyber-attacked and compromises important customer data such as addresses, and banking information. Individuals, financial institutions, or other affected parties can file this type of lawsuit.
- Employer/employee disputes. When employees and employers fall into dispute, one party will often seek compensation. Both parties have obligations to each other and will often enter into contracts, which means there are legal resources available for breaches. Common grounds for these lawsuits include discrimination, breach of contract, wages, and other employer-employee laws.
- Customer lawsuits. When there is a defective product that causes damages or is defective, a customer might have legal recourse to seek compensation from the company. When there is a breach of warranty or a defective product, it can come as a class action litigation.
Why Do You Need a Commercial Litigation Attorney in Michigan?
A commercial litigation attorney has additional experience or degrees working in the commercial litigation sector of law. This experience gives them much-needed insights to help prepare the best case possible.
If you are a business owner involved in a legal dispute, you don’t want to put your business in jeopardy. The business still needs to be run and day-to-day operations need to continue. To relieve the burden of being involved in the legal system, contact an attorney that will do the heavy lifting and fight for your rights.
Trust an Experienced Commercial Litigation Attorney
If you’re involved in a dispute with a business or company or are an owner of a business seeking legal action, trust an experienced attorney. We take care of commercial litigation in Plymouth, MI and the surrounding areas.
Call the offices of Kecskes, Gadd, & Parker for a consultation today.
