There are various grounds that can lead to business disputes in Missouri. 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 Columbia, Missouri, 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. 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. Missouri 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 Columbia are versed in the contract law of Missouri, 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

Contracts sometimes have clauses that mandate resolution outside of court. Methods for reaching out of court solutions are often called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. Mediation and Arbitration are included in the concept of ADR. 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 Columbia, Attorneys experienced in ADR can help if your business dispute is to be resolved out of court.