Failure to Pay

Failure to Pay in a Breach of Contract in San Diego

What happens when the buyer doesn’t come through, and there is a failure to pay for contracted goods or services and a resulting breach of contract in San Diego or anywhere in Southern California?  The fastest and least expensive way to resolve a business dispute such as failure to pay or a breach of contract is leveraged negotiation.  The attorneys at the Watkins Firm have decades of experience in San Diego business disputes and lawsuits.  We will work to understand your objectives and goals for the situation, and maintain effective and constructive working relationships with all parties to help facilitate a solution.

The first and most effective option is negotiation.  It may surprise you to learn the Watkins Firm has more than 40 years of experience in these cases and we are able to resolve the majority of our breach of contract disputes through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest and least expensive strategy to resolve any breach of contract matter.

What was the reason for the breach of contract or the failure to pay, and what steps is the other party willing to take to resolve the situation promptly?  Filing a breach of contract lawsuit can preserve the options available downstream, while communicating the seriousness of the situation and our intent to see it through.  Strong business contracts usually provide for mediation or arbitration, and that step usually follows negotiation.  When all else fails, the dispute will be heard in open Court, and when it is successful the Judge issues a civil judgment, resolving all issues and establishing appropriate remedies based on “damages.”

Multiple California Laws May Apply to a Failure to Pay Dispute

You do not need to become an expert in California contract law to resolve a failure-to-pay dispute. Understanding the basic legal framework can be helpful, but determining which laws and remedies actually apply requires an analysis of the contract, the transaction, what each party has done, and the losses resulting from the breach.

Attempting to assert a legal position on your own—or with the guidance of Artificial Intelligence/AI—can actually harm your position and may limit the remedies or options available to you.

The objective is to resolve the problem—not simply demonstrate that a breach occurred.

The strategy and communications used early in the dispute can affect the options available later. 

There are also legal deadlines that can affect your ability to pursue a breach of contract claim. Which deadline applies and when that period begins to run can depend upon the type of contract, the nature of the breach, and other circumstances. Waiting too long to obtain legal advice can affect or potentially eliminate claims that might otherwise have been available.

This is why Watkins Firm provides a complimentary, substantive consultation. We can help you understand the legal and business issues involved, identify steps you can and should take on your own, and develop a strategy designed to protect your interests while moving the matter toward resolution.

When appropriate, we often coach clients on how to resolve a matter themselves before incurring the expense of more extensive legal involvement.

We will work with you to efficiently develop a thorough, well-documented chronology of events and identify the available damages. Is the amount at issue worth pursuing through a legal dispute? Can you recover your legal fees, and could the contract expose you to the other party’s legal fees if the dispute does not go your way? What steps should you take now, and what should you avoid doing? There are important questions at the outset of any failure-to-pay business dispute, and this is why it is important to seek the experienced advice and counsel of a Watkins Firm breach of contract attorney.

We invite you to engage the chat module on this page, contact us, or call (858) 535-1511 for a free, substantive consultation with an experienced San Diego and Southern California breach of contract and failure to pay resolution attorney.

Statutes establish the legal framework. They do not, by themselves, tell you which remedy is appropriate for your situation.

The contract, whether the transaction involved goods, services or both, the actions already taken by each party, the ability to mitigate losses, and the damages resulting from the failure to pay can all affect the appropriate strategy, the sequence of steps to be taken, and the remedies that may be available under the governing contract and California law.

The particular statutes that apply depend upon the nature of the contract and the circumstances surrounding the failure to pay. California laws that may be relevant include:

California Commercial Code § 2102  – Transactions involving goods and services.
Establishes the application of Division 2 to transactions in goods and addresses transactions involving both goods and services.

California Commercial Code § 2703  – Seller’s remedies involving rejected goods, nonpayment before delivery, or repudiation.
Identifies remedies potentially available when a buyer wrongfully rejects or revokes acceptance of goods, fails to make a payment due on or before delivery, or repudiates the contract.

California Commercial Code § 2706  – Resale of goods after a breach.
Addresses a seller’s ability to resell goods following a breach and the circumstances under which damages associated with the resale may be recovered.

California Commercial Code § 2708  – Damages for nonacceptance or repudiation.
Provides measures of damages available to a seller and addresses circumstances in which lost profit may be an appropriate measure.

California Commercial Code § 2709  – Recovery of the contract price.
Identifies circumstances in which a seller may pursue recovery of the price of goods following the buyer’s breach.

California Commercial Code § 2725  – Deadline for claims involving contracts for the sale of goods.
Establishes a statute of limitations for breach of a contract for sale and addresses when certain claims accrue.

California Civil Code § 3302  – Failure to pay money owed under a contract.
Addresses damages for breach of an obligation to pay money and provides for recovery of the amount due together with interest.

California Civil Code § 1717  – Contractual attorney’s fees.
Addresses recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees in an action on a contract when the contract specifically provides for attorney’s fees and costs, subject to the requirements of the statute.