A business is often a very important part of someone’s life. In many cases, people will pour an enormous amount of time, effort, and financial capital into making sure a business runs smoothly and effectively. Indeed, it can bring great satisfaction to people to see their business thrive. The flip side is that business owners sometimes have to deal with clients and other parties not doing the things they said they would. When that happens, it can cost you money and be incredibly stressful to deal with. Additionally, other hardships like intellectual property theft can put the reputation of the business you have worked hard to build up in jeopardy.
If you are in need of commercial litigation services, we can assist you. Commercial litigation can be extremely complex, but our attorneys know these cases inside and out. Let us handle the legal aspects of your situation so you can focus on running your business and continuing to strive for success.
The commercial litigation lawyers from Howe & Associates are ready to aid you with your legal needs when you contact us by dialing (678) 680-6983.
Contract Disputes in Georgia
Many commercial litigation matters boil down to contract problems that need to be resolved. Contracts are as varied as the entities that enter into them. Therefore, there is no “cookie-cutter” way to handle these situations. Below, our commercial litigation lawyers will walk you through some of the potential contract issues that we can assist you with.
Specific Performance
Perhaps the most common thing that commercial litigants will go to court over involving a contract is compelling a party to carry out a specific performance. In contract law, specific performance refers to one party using the force of law to compel the other to uphold their obligations under the contract. For example, suppose you hire someone to build and paint your yard fence. The contractor then builds the fence but does not paint it. You can sue them for specific performance to compel them to uphold the contract and paint the fence.
The same logic applies to the business world. If you made a contract with another party stating that they were obligated to do something and they did not do what they were contracted for, you can take them to court and sue to make sure you get the benefit you contracted for.
General Damages
In contract law, general damages refer to an injury that arises directly from the breach of a contract. Attorneys drafting a contract can usually make a prediction of what kinds of general damages will be incurred if a contract is breached. For example, suppose a store has a contract with a seller that provides widgets. If the seller breaches the contract by not delivering widgets, it is likely the store will make less money from selling those widgets since they will not be in stock. Therefore, the store owner would be able to sue for general damages based on that breach.
Consequential Damages
Consequential damages, on the other hand, are things that are indirectly incurred due to a breach of contract. Returning to our hypothetical store-seller contract, while the inability to sell undelivered widgets and make money would be general damages, that store losing goodwill and reputation with its customers would be consequential damages.
Liquidated Damages
Another thing involving contracts that our attorneys can help you with is navigating liquidated damages. A liquidated damages clause in a contract denotes the value of certain things that may have nebulous financial worth. The idea is that since the value of the services in the contract is not concrete, the parties will agree on a value that a defaulting party pays to the injured party in the event of a contract breach. While this may seem straightforward, there are a lot of complications that can arise when trying to get a defaulting party to pay liquidated damages. If you are dealing with a liquidated damages clause in a contract related to your business, you should let our commercial litigation lawyers go over it and advise you on what to do.
Intellectual Property Theft in Georgia
Another serious concern for businesses in Georgia is protecting their intellectual property. The term “intellectual property” is thrown around a lot without a lot of care given to its meaning, so it is worth explaining here. Intellectual property is anything that a business comes up with or owns. Intellectual property frequently refers to artistic works and other methods of expression that are not necessarily physically tangible. Intellectual property can have a great deal of value for a business. For example, your business’s logo is doubtless a critical part of your brand and appeal. When another party uses that logo to father their own goals, it can cause confusion for customers and even outright harm if the unauthorized user pawns off the dangerous product as your own. Accordingly, our attorneys can hold accountable those who misuse the intellectual properties your business possesses.
Business Debt Collections in Georgia
Sometimes, you need to spend money to make money. There is a good chance that you loaned income to another party with the expectation that they will pay you back at some predetermined point in the future. Unfortunately, that does not always happen, and business partners can become debtors. We understand that you may not like being a creditor. After all, you just want to get paid.
Our attorneys know how to quickly and effectively facilitate debt collection so that you not only get paid but do not sully your reputation by acting as a cutthroat, nasty debt collector. For example, if you want, we can work towards restructuring debt rather than moving directly to adversarial legal action. There are many good reasons to try and cooperate with a debtor rather than immediately “go for the throat.” Our commercial litigation lawyers understand that a tactful approach can be very effective for getting you paid and preserving relationships with clients, whereas an aggressive debt collection approach can drive potential clients away or even run afoul of the law in extreme circumstances.
Contact Our Georgia Commercial Litigation Lawyers and Get Help Today
Let Howe & Associates’ diligent commercial ligation lawyers help you with your needs when you call us at (678) 680-6983.