In Missouri, business disputes commonly occur over a variety of different matters. Most often, businesses can disagree on the terms of contracts and prior arrangements. Property matters and billing issues also frequently form the basis of disputes between businesses.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

If you are involved in a business dispute in Grain Valley, Missouri you should first review any relevant documents, including past and current contracts. These documents may contain clauses that dictate how and where you should handle a 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. 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. Disputes over contracts and other agreements are handled differently depending on the laws of each state. Attorneys in Grain Valley know the laws of Missouri, and can offer individualized advice for those involved in business disputes. Discussion with the other business about how to resolve the dispute may also proceed more smoothly under the direction of an attorney, avoiding the need to go to 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. 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, sometimes 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 familiar with these methods in Grain Valley can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.