In Hawaii, 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?

If a business dispute should happen in Lihue, Hawaii, you should review any documents that are relevant to the disagreement, especially contracts. These documents may have clauses that must be followed when considering how to resolve the dispute. Not all contracts have dispute resolution clauses, of course, and sometimes neither business has any documents relevant to the dispute at all. If that is the case, a court may be needed to resolve the dispute. Hawaii courts will look to your particular case and try to discover the best resolution. In determining the outcome, they will use a specific set of legal principles designed for situations where the parties have not agreed beforehand on how to handle a dispute. Disputes over contracts and other agreements are handled differently depending on the laws of each state. Attorneys in Lihue know the laws of Hawaii, and can offer individualized advice for those involved in business disputes. 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

Contracts often have clauses requiring that a dispute be handled outside of court. This is called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR, and it includes Mediation and Arbitration among others. 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. In Lihue, Attorneys practiced in ADR can help if your business dispute is to be resolved out of court.