Are you worried about a contract dispute? Contract disputes in San Diego and throughout California are both expensive and preventable.  Our courts are overwhelmed with litigation and many of these disputes involve contracts between businesses, businesses and their customers, or private parties.  Litigation is the most expensive method to resolve a dispute between the parties, and in most cases it should have been preventable.

The first step in avoiding the litigation of any agreement is to draft an effective contract that captures the full agreement between the parties.  Contracts should clearly state the responsibilities of each party, thoroughly describe the capital, goods, services or real property being exchanged, and provide a process for the resolution of any issues or disputes that arise during the fulfillment of that contract.

Pro-Tip: “As an experienced business and real estate attorney with more than four decades of experience I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stepped in to help clients who entered into transactions with the best of intentions, but with poorly written contracts (or worse yet, no contract at all).

Contracts are essential to staying out of court. if you have it in writing between the parties and all of the what ifs are covered, you’ve got it made. If you don’t and something happens in one of those areas you didn’t think of, then people are going to say, “well, I remember this and I remember that.” We have something called the parole evidence rule, and no it’s not about getting out of jail. It’s about a contract and what is within the four corners of that agreement is all we can rely on. And if it’s there’s something that’s missing from that, that time is when we can go outside and hear testimony and reveal emails and bubblegum wrappers that people wrote things on. And we have a fight. So getting your contract written by an attorney or using the proper approved forms for the state is really important to avoiding these types of disputes.

We have programs, we pay thousands of dollars a month for that keep us aware of when our templates are not in compliance with the law, or there’s been new cases. Because every time someone goes to trial and then loses and takes it up on appeal, some appellate court changes the law or the legislature, the State of California comes up with a new law and a new type of business that applies to the contract. So our templates are based on programs that are updated with new laws to consider when preparing our agreements for our clients and some law firms don’t have that. And they just go by general research. They do freehand and old forms, which is, can be scary.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

Contract disputes in San Diego can be efficiently resolved. Once a disagreement takes place, resolving that dispute in the most efficient and cost-effective manner is a common goal for business and personal clients.  In most cases our experienced contract attorneys are able to negotiate a fair and workable solution.  This is always going to be the fastest and least expensive option for our clients.

The next step involves mediation or arbitration. However, when all else fails litigation may be the best course of action to ultimately resolve things.  We work to protect our client’s best interests through effective negotiation, but if push comes to shove we’re prepared to litigate to achieve their goals.  If you are involved in contract disputes in San Diego or anywhere in California we invite you to review our podcast Episode 15 – Contract Law as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.  We will review your contract, discuss what has happened and help to develop strategic options that will resolve the dispute and help you to move forward.