There are several proven strategies to resolve a breach of contract including:

• Negotiation
• Mediation
• Arbitration
• Business Litigation

The fastest and most economical solution to a breach of contract is negotiation.  The experienced lawyers at the Watkins Firm have decades of experience successfully negotiating and resolving breach of contract and business disputes. The key to negotiations is a thorough, well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of the associated “damages.”  Financial damages are generally based upon the impact of the breach of contract upon the party who upheld their portion of the contract.  The manner in which the other party falsely or fraudulently entered into the agreement can open the door to substantial damages.

There are times, especially with recent supply chain challenges, when the ability to fulfill a contract is put at risk.  It is often possible to bring the facts to the table and negotiate a resolution which allows the parties to move forward to achieve the “benefit of the bargain” while keeping associated damages to a minimum.

If you are the victim of a breach of contract you are required to take timely, prudent and reasonable action to mitigate your losses, and reduce associated damages.  However, you should be able to resolve the dispute and recover the financial cost of receiving the “benefit of the bargain” in the original contract.

When negotiations are not successful, the next available proven strategies to resolve a breach of contract include business mediation or arbitration.  Mediation is a private, confidential, timely and cost-effective strategy to work out the issues at hand and resolve a breach of contract dispute.  This keeps your business and financial information out of the public record while providing the best possible environment to iron out the differences and resolve the dispute.

Arbitration is a lot like a court case without many of the superfluous motions, time delays and costs.  The experienced trial attorneys at the Watkins Firm prepare each case for trial from the outset and represent our clients throughout negotiations, mediation and or arbitration.

The final option is to proceed with litigation, and to follow through on the lawsuit that should have been filed near the outset of the contract dispute.  This may add time and expense to the equation, but it usually provides the greatest opportunity for maximized recovery of “damages” and satisfaction for the party who suffered a loss as the result of a breach of contract.

Pro-Tip: “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.

There is 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. That’s the term a lot of people don’t understand. What are damages? 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.

It’s just like the old real estate mantra of, 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

There are many proven strategies to resolve a breach of contract in San Diego or anywhere in California.  We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.