Contract disputes can be damaging to your business and distract you from your work. It is essential you seek the right tactical advice as early as possible to minimise impact to you and your business.
Commercial Contract Disputes
A contract dispute arises when one party believes that the other party has failed to honour some or all of its obligations in accordance with the terms of the contract. This often involves a failure or refusal to pay on the grounds that the other party has failed to perform its obligations by supplying defective or incomplete goods or services.
Ensuring that contracts are clear and unambiguous is the first step in ensuring that your business is protected if something goes wrong. If agreed terms are not met, or a serious financial issue arises, a correctly drafted contract makes it easier for the injured party to seek redress.
Verbal contracts are also covered by the law, and terms of a contract can be expressed or implied. The many and varied facets of contractual law mean that at some stage your business could become involved in a dispute.
Solutions for breach of contract
If the terms of the contract are broken, this is known as a breach of contract. You can remedy a breach of contract in various ways but the most common would be:
1. Damages
An award of damages is the basic remedy for a breach of contract. The aim of damages is to put the injured party into the same financial position they would have been in had the contract been performed properly.
2. Specific performance
An order will be made by the court requiring a party to perform a positive contract obligation (i.e. do something that should have been done under the contract).
3. Injunctions
An injunction is a court order either requiring a party to take specified steps or restraining them from certain activities, for example prevent dealings with particular customers or suppliers or restrain the publication of false or defamatory information.
4. Rescission
Setting aside of a contract. The parties are put back into the position they were before the contract was made. This may be available where a contract was concluded as a result of Misrepresentation, Mistake, Duress or Under Influence.
5. Rectification
This only applies in the case of written contracts and its main purpose is to correct a genuine mistake made between orally agreeing terms and recording those terms within a written agreement.
How we can help
Else Solicitors has a specialist team of litigation solicitors with vast experience in resolving all types of commercial contract disputes including:
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Corporate transactions
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Contracts for supply of goods and services
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Finance and loan agreements
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Credit hire agreements
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IT and intellectual property contracts
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Contracts relating to the lease or sale of land and property
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Personal guarantees
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Warranty claims
Our solicitors recognise that every dispute is different and each will need its own tailored solution to suit your needs. Costs, time and your ongoing business relationships are all vital considerations for any pragmatic business manager.
We also have considerable expertise in mediation to try to help you resolve your dispute out of court but if court action is the only way to go, we will represent your interests through our experienced litigation specialists.
If you or your company would like some legal support with commercial contract disputes, please email andy.rudkin@elselaw.co.uk or call him directly on 01283 526239.