Business Litigation
Litigation for businesses and their owners, and litigation involving business transactions, are core practices of Choquette & Simons LLP. We have represented businesses large and small, operating through many forms of entity – including corporations, general and limited partnerships, and limited liability companies – in a broad array of disputes.
When you are simultaneously running a business and either pursuing or defending against litigation, your concerns include carefully assessing and managing your case and your potential risk. We partner with our business clients to help them move toward solutions that optimize outcomes, time, and resources. Our aim is always to help you reach the most effective and cost-conscious solution possible in every business dispute. Given the time, expense, and risk of litigation, we counsel our clients from the outset about possible alternative means to resolve their disputes. (For more about this, visit our discussion of Alternative Dispute Resolution.) But when trial to a court or jury is necessary or appropriate, we have ample experience to try your case.
Specifically, we have more than two decades of business litigation experience in state and federal courts, covering a broad spectrum of commercial disputes including the following:
- Breach of Contract: We have litigated a wide variety of business contracts, which are often at the center of business disputes, and can concern such diverse areas as: manufacturing and supply; professional and other services; real estate (including purchase and sale agreements and leases); floor-plan and other financing; equipment leases; mortgages and promissory notes; and many other forms of agreement.
- Business Governance: We have represented many kinds of business entities in governance and ownership disputes. Our clients have included corporations, partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies in disputes regarding fiduciary duties, valuation, misappropriation, and dissolution. We have represented corporations and boards of directors in shareholder derivative litigation and special litigation committee matters. And working in conjunction with transactional lawyers outside our firm, we have counseled clients in governance, pre-litigation, and litigation avoidance matters. We have also assisted with intra-employee and intra-owner/manager conflicts.
- Business Torts: We have handled a variety of business torts claims, including negligent misrepresentation, fraud and intentional misrepresentation, fraud in the inducement, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and interference with prospective and actual business relations and contracts. We have also been involved in cases alleging claims of alter ego seeking to pierce the corporate or entity “veil” and hold business owners directly liable for claimed wrongs and damages.
- Construction: We have represented owners and developers in disputes concerning construction contracts, acceleration and delay, change orders, and defects.
- Insurance coverage: We have represented both policy holders (insureds) and insurance companies in a wide variety of coverage disputes and claims concerning breach of contract, the duty to defend, bad faith, exclusions, endorsements, and certificates of insurance. We have handled claims arising under the following types of insurance coverages: comprehensive and commercial general liability (“CGL”); homeowner’s; business owner’s; property; loss of income; and personal injury. We have particular experience in representing business owners and homeowners in claims seeking property repair and replacement, law-and-ordinance, and lost business and rental income coverage after fires in both multi-family residences (urban and mountain) and industrial plants.
- Intellectual Property: We have litigated multiple cases concerning trade secret protection and misappropriation, and confidentiality agreements. For more information on this part of our practice, visit our Intellectual Property practice description.
- Real Estate: We have been involved in breach of contract, specific performance, earnest money, easement, license, adverse possession disputes, as well as landlord-tenant eviction and damages cases.
- Securities: We have significant experience representing brokerage houses in “broker-raidings” disputes, and have also been involved in shareholder derivative actions.
If you believe we can assist you with a business dispute or lawsuit, click here.
