Contract disputes are considered “the cost of doing business” by many and are particularly common in modern business interactions. When businesses enter into agreements, a contract is drafted and signed by both parties. This means the parties are legally bound by the contract to ensure the terms are met within a predetermined period of time. However, due to various reasons, some contracts end up being breached when one party fails to honor the terms set forth.
Here are some of the common contract disputes — and popular agreements signed — across virtually every industry worldwide.
What Are Common Contract Disputes?
Consumer Contract Disputes
Agreements that businesses enter with consumers during the sale and purchase of items, and sealed with a warranty, are legally binding. The warranty is the manufacturers promise that guarantees the customer of a quality product, and describe what is to happen in case the product has a defect. Either return for a full refund, repair or exchange of the same product.
If the manufacturer fails to honor the warranty, in the event of a defective product, or by exposing consumers to harmful products, this instantly breaches the contract since it violates consumer trust. Product liability is a common type of contract dispute — yet it’s not made legally bound through signatures.
Commercial Leases Disputes
If you lease an office building you are given a contract to sign with the property owner or housing agent. You are then bound to the contract terms and in case you breach it, for one reason or the other, the lessor is legally liable to take up the matter with the court. For instance, unlawful detainer, is a key area of commercial leases disputes that building owners often use to demand the lessee to pay the full amount before exiting the premises. As such, it’s important to hire a lawyer if you’ll be entering leasing contracts, and a small attorney fee can help you navigate through the murky waters of mock trials or litigation settlement. Attorney fee.
Sale of Goods Contracts
The element that binds both the merchant and supplier is referred to as the sale of goods contract. It’s one of the loosest contracts in business law, and despite being governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), this is one of the most disputed especially in liquidation and wholesale merchandise. However, not all agreements guarantee customers of performance or freight delivery when they purchase from manufacturers. But if the contract states you should expect delivery and it doesn’t happen, you have a room for litigation.
General Company Contracts
Today’s businesses are bound with different types of contracts — whether you’re dealing with product or service, and these contracts help fostering new relationships with businesses around the world to ensure efficiency. Examples of company contracts could be as simple as the web hosting agreement or the contracts you have with clients. Attorney fee. Whatever you engage in as a business, most likely there’s a contract drafted for that. The moment contract is breached it starts to attract losses, and the party responsible is liable for those damages based on the contract terms.
Non-Compete Agreements
This is yet another common type of contract and it’s usually made between an employer and employees. Non-compete agreements dictate that once an employee has finished working for a particular employer, they cannot go ahead and work for a competing company to a former employer for an agreeable number of years. Some agreements also hinder employees to work in the same industry as their previous job for a specified period of time.
Avoiding contract disputes is essential to fostering good relationships with employees, suppliers and other business partners. Language is key when drafting contracts and each party must clearly understand the terms to eliminate room for contract disputes. Due diligence is important and that’s why you need to consult a professional contract lawyer to help attorney fee interpret your contracts.