In California, there are various 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 Sierra Madre, California should be to review any documents relevant to the matter, such as contracts. It might have already been determined in these documents how disputes will be handled. However, the dispute might need to be taken to court if contracts do not have resolution clauses, or if there are no documents relevant to the dispute. California courts look to the individual cases in determining the best resolution. Where two parties have not agreed beforehand on how to handle a dispute, a specific set of legal principles is used instead. Each state has different business laws about dispute resolution and contract law. An Lawyer practicing in Sierra Madre can help you handle your dispute in accordance with the applicable California laws. Discussion with the other business about how to resolve the dispute might also proceed more smoothly under the direction of an attorney, avoiding the need to go to court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Disagreements in contracts must often be resolved outside of court according to a dispute resolution clause. Methods of resolving a conflict outside of court are called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. These methods include Mediation, Arbitration and Collaboration. All types 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 decision based on local law. In Sierra Madre, Lawyers experienced in ADR can help if your business dispute is to be resolved out of court.