As a business, you can often become embroiled in some pretty nasty affairs. In most cases, you can work your way through them without needing to pursue legal action. However, there can be plenty of instances where legal action needs to be taken!
Today, we look at when you should take legal action, along with how you should proceed.
When should a business take legal action?
In reality, there are so many different times when legal action is warranted. We can’t list them all, but we can pinpoint some of the more prevalent scenarios to be wary of:
- Customers not paying you – Do you have customers that are behind on payments? Whether they keep missing monthly payments or simply haven’t paid you for a job, you are entitled to take legal action. Especially if you have asked them multiple times to pay, and they keep ignoring you.
- Copyright infringements – Are rival businesses stealing your copyrighted ideas or materials and passing them off as their own? Perhaps you have a product or idea that you protected under copyright law, and they are trying to claim it. In any situation like this, you can sue the guilty party and get compensation from them.
- Defamation – If anyone writes or does anything that paints your business in a negative light, you could take legal action if it is unjustly done. This includes things like libel and slander, as people are trying to tar your business and ruin your reputation for no reason other than to bring you down.
- Breach of employee contract – Yes, you can sue your employees if they breach their contract, much like they can do to you if the opposite is true. This is usually an extreme circumstance, but it could happen in cases where an employee is selling private information to rival companies or purposely sabotaging your business.
How can your business take legal action?
You should begin by finding the right legal representation based on your issue. Ideally, you want someone that specializes in business law, so they know the ins and outs of your issue. If possible, they should also have services specific to your particular problem, so you know they really know what they’re talking about.
From here, you will forge a case and take the guilty party to court – unless they agree to terms before a court case is scheduled. Here, you have to decide between getting a lump sum settlement, or a structured settlement annuity. A lump sum is paid in one go, while a structured one is paid in installments. Sometimes, you can choose between either one depending on which you’d prefer. In other cases, if the guilty party can’t afford to pay everything in one go, they are forced to pay it as a structured settlement instead.
Hopefully, your business will never need to take legal action as it can be a lengthy and costly process. However, be aware that this is an option if you feel you have been wronged in some way. Often, it is beneficial to take legal action if you believe that your business has a right to some compensation.