Are you concerned about or have been accused by a contractual partner to be in a breach of contract? The strongest, proven defense for a breach of contract in San Diego or anywhere in California requires legal skill and experience.
Three Important Takeaways about Defense for a Breach of Contract:
- Look for a law firm that is able to resolve most contract disputes and breach of contract cases through leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and least expensive strategy to defend or resolve a breach of contract dispute.
- Breach of contract disputes, as all business litigation cases, are about one thing: damages. The financial impact of the harm caused by the issue(s) in dispute. Mastery of the potential damages is an important key in any business or breach of contract dispute.
- The “victim” of the breach of contract has a legal responsibility to mitigate the damages. What does it mean to mitigate the damages, and what happens if this important step is missed?
The Watkins Firm Employs our Proven Defense for a Breach of Contract in San Diego or Anywhere in California to Resolve the Dispute Quickly and Efficiently
The most important thing to know about a proven defense of a breach of contract is the Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of these cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest, least expensive way to resolve any business dispute, including a breach of contract. Watkins Firm attorneys have more than four decades of experience defending a breach of contract in San Diego and are prepared to help find a resolution that meets your objectives. The process begins with a thorough, well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of any and all potential damages.
Why Are Contracts Breached?
There are many reasons for a contract to be breached. In many cases a situation beyond your control such as delayed shipment from a supplier or back-order of parts overseas has challenged your ability to fulfill your own commitments. The illness of key player or financial challenges may also prevent performance on the business contract at hand.
What are the Keys to a Strong Defense for a Breach of Contract in San Diego?
One of the most important keys to a strong defense for a breach of contract in San Diego is taking all available steps to minimize the impact of the breach and reduce the possibility of damages, especially those which might result in extensive plaintiff’s attorneys fees. We assess the underlying contract and the specific facts in your case. The other party has a responsibility to mitigate the damages due to the breach, and if they fail to do so it may limit or eliminate their ability to recover from the breach. Our skilled attorneys work to negotiate a “work-around” or some other settlement that reflects our client’s goals and objectives for the dispute while eliminating contingent liabilities.
Pro-Tip: “The benefit of the bargain is required for a contract because a contract without any exchange or any value is not a contract. So to have a contract, you have to have an offer, an acceptance and something of value. So that’s what the benefit of the bargain is. That’s what makes it a contract. A breach of a contract is when someone breaches a material term of the agreement or an immaterial term of the agreement. And you have different remedies for either
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.
For example, one of the remedies in a material breach, the non-breaching party no longer has to obey the terms of the contract. 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.
The primary remedy for a breach of contract is damages. What are damages? THAT is the right question in any breach of contract case. When I advise my clients, I tell them the most important item in litigation is not whether you are liable or they’re liable, or somebody breached. I say the three most important things in a lawsuit are: damages damages damages.
And I say it just like, you know, location, location, location, because it’s that important in the type of damages you can obtain are so varied that if you focus on whether you’ve been damaged under the law, there will be a statute or a case that says you are entitled to those damages. So if you track it backwards from I lost a hundred thousand dollars in this deal and how you lost it on those facts and what you did lose, you’ll probably find 99% of the time, a statute or a law or a case or something that gives you a remedy, a right to those damages and how you can collect.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Unique Approach to Breach of Contract Defense
Our unique approach to litigation ensures that the breach of contract dispute is resolved in the shortest possible time frame and in a cost-effective manner. Our attorneys can represent you at every phase of a dispute or business litigation including negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation. Most of Watkins Firm’s breach of contract cases are resolved through effective, leveraged negotiation. Our success at trial in the past is a strong signal to opposing counsel who know our reputation and the skill of our lawyers. They know we have the resources, legal skill and experience to defend your interests at every step. They also know it is not in their interests to go to battle, and this usually results in a much faster and more efficient resolution of your case. Having the Watkins Firm on your side increases the likelihood that the case will be positively resolved in a prompt and efficient manner.
The strong defense of a breach of contract in San Diego provided by the Watkins Firm can help to give you more time to uphold the “benefit of the bargain” and complete the work promised under the agreement or simply conclude a smooth conclusion or settlement. 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.
Meet Dan Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares about things that occur in other people’s lives. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He is not shy about giving his opinion either.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a seasoned litigator and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
