How to Handle a Dispute with a Business Customer, Partner or Supplier

Mediation or Arbitration

These are procedures where another lawyer or business person works together with the parties to resolve the issue. They can go for many days or be over in an hour. Some courts mandate them, sometimes parties prefer them, and sometime they succeed. If they do not, then the matter goes to court.

Experts

Complicated matters require experts for both sides. For example, a breach of contract involving the wholesale purchase of tools, might be easily resolved without an expert. The plaintiff shipped 200 boxes of tools which costs $100 per box and is owed $20,000. The plaintiff has the proposal, the shipping order and proof of delivery. Obviously anyone can see that no expert is needed for such a dispute. Others might be much more complicated. For example, the plaintiff provides a very sophisticated software program which has been granted an exclusive patent, and the dispute is about reverse engineering, i.e., "stealing" the idea without paying a license and/or users fee. Such an argument would require an expert in the field of patent law, software programming and reverse engineering. A judge might want this dispute to be argued before the bench (judge only) or a jury. This usually means an exchange of written opinions from the experts and expert depositions before trial.

Trial

The matter goes to a judge only court or a judge with a jury. The plaintiff presents the fact witnesses and experts. The defense does the same. Either the judge or the jury deliberates and then the court issues a verdict. Verdicts can be 100% for the plaintiff, a split decision or no cause (which is a defense verdict). Lawyers can shepherd their clients through the pretrial and trial time. No lawyer can ever guarantee what a judge or jury will decide. The lawyer's job is to advocate your position and present your arguments and be as persuasive as possible. The other side has their lawyer doing the same thing. Some disputes are so clear that the jury grants a verdict 100% for the plaintiff, others are more murky and lead to a split. If the jury cannot decide, the matter may be no-caused, or a mistrial called, which means the parties need to go to another trial. Sometimes the costs of another trial will lead some parties to settle.

Money Verdict

If a jury awards a verdict, the other side can accept it and pay it. The losing party is allowed to appeal to a higher court if they believe there were errors in the trial. Sometimes the defendant does not have the resources to pay the verdict, and then the winner has to follow a collection action. Verdicts can be filed in the state court office and becomes a financial lien on any asset owned by the loser. Sometimes a loser will go into bankruptcy to avoid paying a judgment.