In California, there are several different grounds that can lead to a business dispute. Often, prior agreements and contracts have terms that the businesses disagree upon. Disputes can also occur over property matters, billing issues or other disagreements.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

The first step when involved in a business dispute in Port Hueneme, California should be to review any documents relevant to the matter, such as contracts. It may have already been decided in these documents how disputes will be handled. However, the dispute may need to be taken to court if contracts do not have resolution clauses, or if there are no documents relevant to the dispute. Where the parties have not agreed beforehand about how to handle disputes, legal principles have been designed to determine the resolution. When they are called upon, California courts try to discover the best resolution by looking to the facts of the particular situation presented. Each state has different business laws about dispute resolution and contract law. An Attorney practicing in Port Hueneme can help you handle your dispute in accordance with the applicable California laws. Resolution of the dispute may even be reached outside of court once an attorney's knowledge of the law smoothens negotiations between the two parties.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Sometimes contracts themselves require that disputes under them be resolved outside of court. Methods of conflict resolution of this type are called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. ADR includes Mediation, Arbitration and sometimes a combination of the two. All forms of ADR are designed to reach the same decision a court would have, without needing to actually go to court. They carry their own sets of procedures and protocols, and they often involve a neutral third party listening to both sides of a dispute and making a determination based on local law. An attorney specialized in Alternative Dispute Resolution can help you with your business dispute in Port Hueneme if it is to be resolved out of court.