Business disputes in Tennessee often happen in several different areas. Frequently businesses disagree on the exact terms of prior contracts or arrangements. Also, billing issues and property matters can give rise to disagreements in the business setting.
What to Do in a Business Dispute?
The first step when involved in a business dispute in Smyrna, Tennessee should be to review any documents relevant to the matter, such as contracts. It may have already been decided in these documents how disputes will be handled. 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. Tennessee courts look to the individual cases in determining the best resolution. Where two parties have not agreed beforehand on how to handle a dispute, a particular set of legal principles is used instead. Each state has different business laws about dispute resolution and contract law. An Attorney practicing in Smyrna can help you handle your dispute in accordance with the applicable Tennessee laws. 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 is designed to reach the same conclusion as a court, but without the cost and inconvenience of actually appearing before a judge. Nevertheless, each type of ADR carries its own set of protocol, often involving a neutral third party that resolves the conflict according to the law. If your business dispute is to be resolved by ADR, an attorney familiar with these methods in Smyrna can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.