In New York, 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 a business dispute should happen in Westchester County, New York, 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. New York 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. Each state has different business laws about dispute resolution and contract law. An Attorney practicing in Westchester County can help you handle your dispute in accordance with the applicable New York laws. 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. 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 Westchester County can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.