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Asked almost 2 years ago - Jacksonville, FL
FlagI relocated to Florida for a employer. Before agreeing to the relocation - we had a employment contract drawn up to protect my family. Included was a severence package, relocation, set payment amount, etc. My salary was reduced 2 years ago and I was laid off 2 years after that (before my contract expired). I have seen an attorney and understand that I do have a credible contract. I am wanting to know if I should contact the employer before hiring an attorney, letting him know of my intentions - to see if we can settle before attorneys get involved. Or, is there anyway I can recover attorney costs even though it isn't stipulated in the contract? Why should I have to spend so much money to get what is owed in the contract?
I agree with my colleague, and you should hire a lawyer to negoiate for you so your employer will take this threat of a lawsuit seriously, perhaps on a sliding scale to incentivise them to handle it quickly. If you do this yourself, you could make damaging admissions.
The strength of your claim depends on the strength of your contract. If it doesn't provide for legal fees to the prevailing party, then you won't be able to add the money you spend on a lawyer to your claim, and be made whole. Realize, also, that settlements often involve the claimant taking less than they want and the recipients paying more than they want -that's a true settlement, and no one's happy with it, but it does end the matter.
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