What Is Business Litigation (Explained: All You Need To Know)

Looking for Business Litigation?

What does Business Litigation mean?

What’s important to know about it?

Keep reading as we have gathered exactly the information that you need!

Let me explain to you what Business Litigation is and how it works!

Are you ready?

Let’s get started!

What Is Business Litigation

The term business litigation refers to any type of litigation that may arise in the context of a business relationship or business activity.

In other words, business litigation covers all aspects of litigation, starting from the investigation of a cause of action, to the filing of a lawsuit, appeals, and execution of a judgment.

For example, business litigation can include contract disputes, breach of contract issues, termination of business relationships, violation of shareholder agreements, employee disputes, issues with vendors, and so on.

The term “business” is a very broad term that is defined in the English language as “trade considered in terms of its volume or profitability” or “a commercial operation or company”.

The term “litigation” is defined as “the process of taking legal action”.

In essence, business litigation refers to the process that a company or business will need to go through to take legal action against another party involved in its business or had a business relationship.

All businesses, whether operated individually or as legal entities, can be implicated in business litigation to either enforce their rights or defend against legal action.

Keep reading as I will further break down the meaning of business litigation and tell you how it works.

Recommended article: What does litigation mean

Types of Business Litigation

Business litigation can be any type of litigation relating to a business whether internal or with other external parties.

The most common types of business litigation will revolve around certain areas, such as employment disputes, breach of contract issues, breach of fiduciary duty, intellectual property disputes, trade secret and non-disclosure matters, partner disputes, shareholder disputes, LLC member disputes, and class action lawsuits.

Employment disputes relate to litigation and conflict that may arise between a company and its employees, agents, executives, or representatives.

Breach of contract issues relates to matters where a company takes legal action to enforce its rights under a contract, seek damages, or demand other remedies like injunctive relief and so on.

The breach of fiduciary duties relates to cases where parties or individuals had the responsibility to act in the best interest of another party and failed to do so, for instance, board members to act in the best interest of the company, executives to represent the interest of a company, and so on.

Intellectual property disputes broadly refer to protecting a creator’s rights, such as protecting trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, industrial designs, and publicity rights.

Recommended article: What is a litigation hold

Business Litigation Alternatives

Business litigation can take a long time to resolve and end up quite costly if it ends up in court.

There are some alternative dispute resolution methods that companies will consider instead of litigating a potential matter.

One method is to engage in mediation where the parties voluntarily sit down with a neutral third party who will work with the parties to find a negotiated settlement.

If the matter is amicably resolved, the parties can execute a settlement agreement to end the dispute.

Another possibility is for the parties to go to arbitration.

Typically, the parties will need to agree on arbitration provisions in their commercial agreements so that they can present their issues to arbitration in the event of a dispute.

In the case of arbitration, the parties present their case to the arbitrator in a similar way as they would before a court.

The arbitrator will have the power to render a decision that will ultimately be binding on the parties.

Recommended article: What are compensatory damages

Business Litigation Examples

Business litigation encompasses a broad range of business disputes.

Here are some examples of business litigation:

• Contract negotiation disputes
• Contract interpretation disputes
• Breach of contract matters
• Partner disputes
• Shareholder disputes
• LLC member disputes
• Executive dismissal disputes
• Employee dismissal disputes
• Board member fiduciary duty
• Business tax issues
• Product liability issues
• Intellectual property disputes 
• Trade secret infringement claims
• Copyright issues
• Violation of non-compete obligation
• Violation of non-disclosure obligations
• Class action lawsuits
• Supply chain disputes
• Warranty disputes 
• Unpaid royalty disputes
• Licensing disputes 

The list can go on and on.

The common thread between the above issues is that they are either internal to the business, relate to a business relationship, or have to do with business activities.

Recommended article: What is a class action lawsuit

Business Litigation FAQ

What does business litigation mean?

Business litigation refers to any type of litigation arising from the operations of a business, its internal activities, or its relationship with others.

For instance, a company can have a contractual dispute with a customer or a payment dispute with a supplier or vendor.

Litigation generally refers to a company’s right to take legal action to enforce its legal rights, seek damages, demand specific performance, or other remedies.

What does business litigation include?

Business litigation includes all activities starting from the investigation of a possible claim, to the filing of a lawsuit, issuance of a final and enforceable judgment, and execution of the judgment.

The business litigation process can be presented as follows:

• Investigation of a claim
• Gathering of evidence and fact-finding
• Sending of a notice of claim or demand letter
• Filing of a lawsuit before the courts
• Filing of motions, discovery, and handling of different procedural steps
• Filing of expert reports, as needed 
• Pre-trial motions 
• Preparation for trial and trail 
• Handling of potential appeals
• Execution of a final judgment 

What are examples of business litigation?

Virtually any legal dispute arising from the activities and operations of a company, whether internal to the business or involving the business and other parties can be qualified as business litigation.

Some examples of business litigation include:

• Breach of contract
• Employment disputes
• Real estate disputes
• Class actions
• Intellectual property disputes
• Insurance coverage disputes
• Commercial debt claims
• Product liability
• Tortious interference 
• Partnership disputes
• Shareholder disputes
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Misappropriation of trade secrets
• Unpaid royalties
• Warranty claims 
• Minority shareholder disputes
• Conflict of interest issues
• Financial reporting issues
• Securities law disputes
• Antitrust claims
• Misuse of funds 

And so on…

Recommended article: What are liquidated damages

Takeaways 

So there you have it folks!

What does business litigation mean?

In a nutshell, business litigation refers to taking legal action against another party directly or indirectly involved in a business.

Business litigation can be between different companies, shareholders, suppliers, vendors, partners, employees, board members, or any other stakeholders in a business.

Business litigation is similar to civil litigation with the main difference being that it may involve a number of defendants, implicate sophisticated parties, have industry-specific complexities, and have a national or international scope.

If you believe you may be implicated in potential business litigation or are engaged in one, it’s important to consult with a qualified attorney to get the right advice and representation.

Now that you know what business litigation is all about, good luck with your research!

You May Also Like Related to Business Litigation Meaning