Litigation is any proceeding in which two opposing parties initiated to defend or enforce a legal right. And this involves every activity before, during, and after legal action. Business litigation is a specialization of law that is used to resolve business disputes when negotiation and arbitration proceedings can’t solve them. To succeed, a lawsuit must be filed, that is, writing a brief to explain the facts of the incident, stating the law supporting a right to recovery, and citing case law and precedent for the court to determine recovery appropriately. Some instances that are solved with business litigation include the following:
Finances and Investments
Individuals and businesses entities can institute business litigation for misrepresentations in financial reporting, broker-dealer non-compliance, insider trading, the validity of disclosures, and securities or other fraud. Any investor who suspects his investment broker has acted against his best interest can initiate business litigation. Unethical acts such as failing to fully disclose investment information, deception by pushing inappropriate investments on investors resulting in excessive financial loss can amount to initiating business litigation.
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Intellectual Property
An individual can also institute business litigation in a circumstance where there is intellectual property infringement. Any breach on a trademark, copyright or trademark is ground for business litigation. This infringement can arise when the work protected by intellectual property law is used, exploited or copied without the permission from the person who has rights over the work.
Anti-trust
Some companies use unfair and deceptive practices to cut out competitors and increase their profits. Two main types of this practice are interference with contractual relationships and interference with prospective advantage. Business litigation can be initiated against such companies by individuals and business entity who have suffered loss as a result of the company’s illegal activities.
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Fiduciary Duty
Investment advisers, boards and others are charged with a fiduciary duty to their clients/shareholders, which means their clients’ interest must be put before their own. Investors often have a great deal of trust in their investment advisers and breach of duties of care, loyalty and good faith can cause huge losses to the investors. If investment advisers breach their fiduciary duty the investors can recover with business litigation.
Insurance Disputes
Law ensures provisions in insurance contract to protect the right of individuals and business entity against insurance companies. In a situation where an insurance company fails to pay an insurance claim which it is legally obligated to pay can be subjected to business litigation. Sometimes insurance companies deny a legitimate claim or undervalue a claim. When these events occur individuals and businesses can recover with business litigation. Insurance companies may use confusing or deceptive wording in the contract in order to avoid fully paying a fair claim or trying not to pay at all. There are numerous circumstances in which individuals and business entity can institute business litigation to resolve a dispute.
Generally, a prudent settlement is preferable for everyone involved in dispute than expensive and prolonged litigation. More often than not alternative dispute resolution method is advisable because it provides remedy to dispute quickly and effectively. However, when it is impossible, a competent business litigation attorney can be invaluable in protecting your interest and that of your company.
In the US the business and individual scenes are highly litigious. This is because there are many lawyers who promise clients large awards and because the system overall is conducive to litigation. We spend 2% of the GDP, or $3 billion, or $1000 per person per year on litigation.
Litigation also requires experts. We are an expert witness firm for a wide variety of financial issues. Please see our expert witness link https://www.hpaccounting.com/expert-witness/