How do you handle a vendor breaches that breaches a contract in California?  What steps should you take to protect your company, and your ability to recover associated damages or losses?   Breach of contract cases can be quite complex, but the Watkins Firm takes a practical and unique approach to contract disputes in order to resolve them quickly and cost-effectively.  It might help you to know the Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of our breach of contract cases through effective, leveraged negotiation.  This is the fastest, least expensive path to protect your rights and interests and accomplish your goals for the situation at hand.

Our first step is to efficiently and thoroughly document the chronology of events leading up to the breach and calculate the resulting damages when a vendor breaches the contract.  This is legally important for two reasons.  First, you must take every action that is reasonable, timely and prudent in order to mitigate (reduce) the damages associated with the breach.  Second, damages provide effective leverage for our negotiations with the vendor.

Our clients establish specific goals for each situation, based on what is best for that unique transaction.  In most cases, they want the vendor to fulfill the original agreement, and a modification or settlement must be negotiated.

It may be important to preserve that relationship for future business, and we work strategically to create and maintain a positive but productive working relationship on your behalf.  When negotiation isn’t enough, business mediation and/or arbitration may provide additional efficient legal venues to resolve the dispute without the need to take the case to trial.

Most clients do not wish to endure the time delays and expense of going to Court, but the Watkins Firm prepares every case as if it will result in a trial.  We are uniquely positioned to represent you through each step of the process, while protecting your interests and resolving the matter in the shortest possible time frame and at an effective cost.

Pro-Tip: ” What’s the difference and what’s the remedy when a party commits a minor breach contract versus a material breach in California?

In most cases, a minor breach means that you still have a contract. You still have an agreement and you can demand performance, or you can demand that you have to give less performance on the other side, but yet the contract isn’t completely breached and it’s not over. A material breach gives you more remedies, remedies that are important and may sound minor today. But there’s been many a situation where having a material breach gives the party who was breached or damaged the right to rescind the contract or the right to specific performance, and forced the performance of the contract. All of these things have amazing consequences, if you look at factual situations in breach of contract law.

We are often asked ‘in a material breach, does the non-breaching party no longer has to obey the terms of the contract?’ Well, that’s what’s called choice of remedies in a material breach. The person who’s been damaged by the breaching party has all kinds of choices they can make. And depending on the kind of contract, the subject matter of contract, whether it’s a real estate contract or a commercial contract, they have the right to choose through a whole list of remedies, including provisional remedies and the list goes on and on. This is as opposed to a minor breach, whereas your remedies are, are much less.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

How do you handle a vendor that breaches a contract while protecting your business and financial interests?  Draw on the more than four decades of experience at the Watkins Firm to resolve your dispute quickly and efficiently.  If you are involved in a breach of contract we invite you to review our podcast Episode 5 – Breach of Contract as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.