In Florida, 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?

If involved in a business dispute in Cocoa, Florida, reviewing any relevant documents, especially contracts, should be the first step. These documents might decide how the dispute will be resolved. Not all contracts have dispute resolution clauses, of course, and occasionally neither business has any documents relevant to the dispute at all. If that is the case, a court might be needed to resolve the dispute. Florida courts may use legal principles to determine the outcome when the parties have not agreed beforehand about how to handle a dispute. In so doing, they look carefully to a specific case to discover the best resolution for all involved. The fields of contract law and dispute resolution are defined by local state law. Cocoa Lawyers are accustomed to handling disputes under Florida law, and can offer personalized advice for all types of business disputes. 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

Sometimes contracts themselves require that disputes under them be resolved outside of court. Methods of conflict resolution of this form are called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. ADR includes Mediation, Arbitration and sometimes a combination of the two. ADR focuses on reaching the same resolution that a court would have, without the parties actually going to court. Methods of ADR often involve their own protocols, occasionally bringing in a third party to find a solution based on local law. If your business dispute is to be resolved by ADR, an attorney experienced with these methods in Cocoa can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.