Business Contract Disputes: How Lawyers Can Help
All businesses rely on contracts to perform daily operations. These written agreements are essential for all employees as well as interactions between companies. Sometimes disagreements arise when parties have issues with the terms of a contract. When these disputes occur, having one of our Ogden, UT attorneys on your side is essential.
Our business litigation lawyers would like to consider some common reasons why contract disputes may arise. Whether it’s a potential breach of contract or a disagreement on the verbiage of a written agreement, our legal team can offer crucial help.
Breach of Contract
A breach of contract refers to cases in which the terms of the contract were broken or disregarded. In essence, breach of contract means that one of the parties:
- Failed to perform or deliver on schedule
- Did not perform or deliver goods in accordance with the terms of the agreement
- Failed to otherwise uphold their end of the agreement
This can apply to all sorts of formal agreements, and is one of the key reasons why contract disputes arise.
Material and Non-Material Breach of Contract
Generally a breach of contract can be broken down into a material breach and a non-material breach.
A material breach (also known as total breach) is one that completely violates the purpose of the contract as a whole. This could mean a complete failure to deliver goods or services as specified. If you do not receive what is promised, the agreement has been violated.
A non-material breach refers to ancillary details of the contract being violated that do not pertain to the overall quality or function of the delivered goods or services. Say you completed documents as a part of a business agreement, but these documents used a different font than specified. The font does not effect the overall quality of the documents per se, though this was not part of the initial agreement.
Anticipatory Breach: Repudiation of a Contract
In some cases, a party may indicate through words or actions that it will not uphold its side of an agreement. Rather than waiting for a material breach to occur, the other part can claim an anticipatory breach of contract and seek compensation for a failure honor the agreement.
Different Interpretations of a Business Contract
Sometimes breach of contract is not necessary for disputes to arise. The language of a contract may be such that it results in different interpretations from each party. Vague language or unclear phrases could result in each party expecting something different out of the contract they read and signed. This can result in lengthy disagreements about services, goods, rightful compensation, and so forth.
How Contract Dispute Attorneys Can Help
When dealing with contract disputes, it’s important to have an attorney on your side who can represent your claims, parse the language of the contract, and provide sensible, reasonable solutions that are fair and apply the letter of the law to the agreement under discussion.
If the dispute cannot be mediated or an agreement cannot be made out of court, we can help your business during the litigation process. We will offer sound advice as well as peace of mind while these proceedings play out.
Assistance Drafting Contracts to Avoid Problems
To avoid contract disputes in the first place, our law firm can help businesses draft contracts that both parties fully understand. Rather than risking ambiguity and disputes down the road, we can help prevent all such disagreements by making sure the language is airtight and concrete from the outset.
Contact Froerer & Miles
For more information about contract disputes and other matters related to business litigation, be sure to contact the attorneys of Froerer & Miles. We will help you make smart choices regarding your legal options, seeking solutions that are ethical, beneficial, and cost-effective for your business.
