There are several grounds that can lead to business disputes in Michigan. Business may disagree about the terms of contracts and prior arrangements. Billing issues, property matters and other grounds can also give rise to disputes between businesses.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

If a business dispute should happen in Manistee, Michigan, 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. If the contracts do not have resolution clauses, or neither business has any recorded documents relevant to the dispute, then the matter may need to be taken to court. Michigan 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 particular case to discover the best resolution for all involved. The laws designed to settle contract disputes are different in each state. Attorneys practicing in Manistee are versed in the contract law of Michigan, and can help you to handle the dispute should it go to court. Negotiations may also proceed more smoothly when an attorney is consulted, which may even lead to a resolution outside of court.

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. ADR makes going to court unnecessary, because it is designed to reach the same result that a court would have. Still, some methods of ADR entail their own formal procedures, most enlisting a third party to decide a dispute based on local law just as a judge would do. If your business dispute is to be resolved by ADR, an attorney familiar with these methods in Manistee can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.