Contracts Disputes
Contract Disputes
Nothing is more disruptive to a business, or a person, than dealing with a contract dispute. Whether it’s a client who hasn’t paid for the products or services you delivered, an unpaid loan, or a party who fails to fulfill their contractual obligations, settling these types of conflicts takes time, energy and resources.
At Mullowney’s Law, we have developed an outstanding reputation among corporate and commercial clients, and individuals, as the trusted advisor they count on to solve their legal challenges. Our lawyers have extensive experience guiding owners of small, medium and large businesses in Ottawa through a wide range of legal procedures and transactions, including those involving contract breaches.
Contract breaches violate the trust between parties and can have serious financial consequences and create emotional stress for everyone involved. If you have been wronged in a contract dispute, you have a right to seek compensation. For over 20 years we have represented countless Ottawa business owners and individuals in various contract disputes, successfully protecting their financial interests and giving them peace of mind in the process
What is a Breach of Contract?
Breach of contract is a legal term describing what happens when one party fails to fulfill what it promised to the other in an agreement, which can be oral or written.
Business owners and individuals facing a breach of contract with suppliers, customers or others may have grounds for a civil lawsuit where they can seek financial compensation for their losses.
Protect Your Business
When your business and livelihood are at stake, it’s important to work with experienced legal professionals who have a solid track record of resolving commercial conflicts.
Knowing your rights, obligations and options for legal remedies gives you clarity on the best path to resolution. We will help you get to the core of the conflict before it escalates and causes devastating financial losses to your business.
Step one is a thorough review of your case to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to establish damages due to a breach of contract. We also assess any damages sustained as a result of unfulfilled obligations, which helps inform the next appropriate steps.
By gaining a comprehensive understanding of your challenge and leveraging strategic and creative tactics, we can help you resolve conflicts that are destabilizing your business. We pride ourselves on providing clear, honest, objective advice in all types of commercial disputes, including:
- Unpaid Invoices or Loans
- Mortgage Actions/Power of Sale
- Franchise Disputes
- Service Contract Disputes
- Partnership Disputes
- Bankruptcy Matters
- Insurance Recovery
- Fraud
Schedule a Free Consultation
Running a business is challenging enough without having to worry about whether you’re legally protected. When you or your company is under threat, you need an experienced lawyer to advise and guide you at every step along the way until it’s resolved.
Our job is to alleviate your stress and find solutions when a contractor, client, business partner, or other party fails to deliver on what they promised. We have the experience to resolve these disputes in a time and cost effective manner and stand ready to advocate on your behalf to protect your financial interests.
Paths to Dispute Resolution
The best way to avoid contract disputes is to have well-drafted contracts that anticipate and proactively address worst-case scenarios. Even in cases that don’t involve a clear-cut breach of the contract, parties often disagree over the interpretation of a contract’s language.
Whatever the case, our priority is to protect your interests by resolving your dispute quickly and efficiently. We will help you decide if the relationship can be preserved or if the best course is to dissolve it and seek financial compensation as soon as possible.
Most contract disputes aren’t settled in court. The parties either negotiate a settlement through legal counsel or appoint a mediator or arbitrator who helps them reach a consensus.
There are three main legal paths to resolving contract disputes.
Negotiation:
The first strategy for resolving a commercial dispute is by negotiating with the other party. This is an informal type of dispute resolution where both sides and their lawyers discuss the problem and work towards a mutually beneficial solution. A settlement that’s reached outside of the courts is often the fastest and most cost-effective for you. For many businesses, the best option is to preserve working relationships and come to a solution that benefits both sides.
Litigation/Arbitration:
When negotiation is unsuccessful, mediation can be an effective way to resolve a dispute. A neutral mediator helps parties who are in conflict understand each other more clearly. The mediator can suggest creative, flexible solutions to help both sides reach a compromise.
Mediation:
If negotiation and mediation are unsuccessful, and it is unlikely that you and the opposing party will be able to work together going forward, we will skillfully represent your interests in court, or through binding arbitration. To be successful in a breach of contract dispute, you need to establish the
- The existence of a contract
- That the other party broke the contract by failing to provide products/services or by not fulfilling their obligations according to the terms of your agreement
- That you or your business suffered a financial loss.
