Jean Meschke Bouffard

As a trial attorney, Ms. Bouffard has represented clients in cases involving contract disputes, contract enforcement, business partner disputes, shareholder disputes, fraud, mechanics liens/contractor liens, construction defects, Homeowners Association's common area disputes, tradename protection, real estate disputes, eminent domain proceedings, property line disputes, land use disputes and contested probates, among others.

People who enter into business ventures together should have a written agreement, signed by all the parties, which sets out how certain difficult situations will affect the business and/or be treated by the business. Shareholders in a corporation need a Shareholder Agreement, the members of an LLC need an Operating Agreement, and partners in a partnership need a Partnership Agreement. Anticipating conflict resolutions protects each of the business partners.

When property owners (commercial or residential) have construction work done on their property, they should be aware that contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers can put liens on their property for lack of payment, even if the general contractor has been paid in full. That means, before a property owner pays the general contractor, the property owner needs to verify that the subcontractors and suppliers received timely payment before paying the general.

In the purchase and sale of a business or the purchase and sale of real property, one of the more common mistakes involves contract provisions that leave the contract open ended. People think if they include a closing date, they have a binding contract. However, if the contract has a condition that has to happen before the closing occurs and that condition does not have a time limit for being accomplished, then the contract is not definite; it’s "illusory" and not binding.