When you are running a successful business, lawsuits are almost inevitable. It can come from anywhere in the form of a dissatisfied customer or an unhappy employee.
Although most lawsuits are targeted to damage property, disorient mental wellness, and harm physical health, it’s possible to solve them with the help of legal funding companies and defense lawyers.
Here are 6 critical tips that will help you solve lawsuits as a business leader.
- Review the Suit Papers With Your Attorney
The initial prudent step to solving a lawsuit as a business leader is to review the suit papers thoroughly with your attorney. It’s critical that you thoroughly check the captions and information on the paper to verify that the details are proper and if there’s any loophole that you can exploit.
If the lawsuit is false in any way, your move should be to dismiss the suit in accordance with your lawyer. But, if it’s correct, and you’re getting the shorter end of the stick, review the allegation and appeal for a litigation hold. In the worst-case scenario, you should start preserving data that is related to the case as soon as possible.
It’s absolutely mandatory that you don’t destroy your documents even if that’s an in-house policy. Keep track of every piece of information—documents, photos, videos, voice recordings—which is remotely tangential to the case.
- Don’t Communicate With the Plaintiff
Anything and everything that you say or write to the plaintiff can and will be used against you in court. Let your attorney handle the communication and don’t indulge in threats or emotional spar. If the plaintiff is gaslighting you, you can use that too in court. Consult with your lawyer if you absolutely need to communicate with them.
As a business leader, you must be very diplomatic about the issue. You must understand that the time to resolve the matter within yourselves is over as soon as the suit is filed.
If you must talk to the plaintiff, follow the tips mentioned:
- Design a script about what you want to communicate about and don’t divert away
- Multiple communication channels are absolutely necessary when talking to a plaintiff. Even an unsent message can be destructive.
- Don’t be rude with them. Cut to the chase and stick to the scripts. Avoid unnecessary communication.
- Always use written communication mediums like text messaging. Even if you don’t, remember to record calls for future references if your local law permits.
- Contact Legal Funding Companies
You’ll not always have the support of your insurance companies if the terms don’t go parallel with your requirement. Your best bet in this scenario is to contact best lawsuit loan companies.
After getting your call or online application, they initiate the review with your attorney and if everything is alright, you can even secure funding within 24 hours.
To qualify for legal funding, you might need to:
- Have a strong case. The legal funding companies risk their funds assuming that you have confidence in your case and it will be resolved in your favor.
- Have an attorney who is only getting paid if you win the case.
- The plaintiff is able to pay damages or defamation charges after the case is resolved.
- Have extensive documentation about your case.
The benefits of securing funds for a legal funding company are:
- Your credit score isn’t affected. The quick case fundings generally don’t show up on the report, but personal loans do.
- It’s the duty of your legal funding companies to verify your case. If you lose the lawsuit, you don’t owe them anything.
- You’ll have peace of mind and won’t need to waste money on securing finances.
- They don’t typically interfere in your case
- Design a Strategy to Respond
You must have a deadline mentioned in the document to respond to it. Although it may vary from state to state, general formatting of the response requires you to:
- Admit or deny each of the allegations,
- Counterclaims against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, and
- Mention if you want a trial or are inclined to settle the case out-of-court.
Before you frame the response, you must understand the case against you. If the case is monetarily or reputably insignificant, you should propose an out-of-court settlement.
Litigation costs can rise very quickly. Talk to your attorney about exit plans on every step. Even if you are not at fault or have a strong case, it’s often better to take the heat and settle out-of-court.
You also need to keep possibilities of third-party counterclaim open. Suppose you’ve had a road accident. It might be your fault, but you can sue the companies that made the model for a faulty brake or something. It isn’t the best example, but you need to keep your options open.
But, do not ever ignore the lawsuit. Ignoring a lawsuit almost always implies that you are in the wrong.
- Contact a Defense Attorney
If you are a small business, you might not have an attorney at your disposal. But it’s always best to consult a defense attorney once you’ve received the lawsuit papers. Not every lawyer is specialized in every type of case, you should verify their credentials before appointing them to your case.
A road accident is fundamentally different from a defective-product case. So you need a defense lawyer who is sound in framing and documenting the response on your behalf. If your insurance provider is taking on your case, you don’t need to do anything. They’d appoint the best one for their own sake.
- Stay Cautious of Copycat Suits
As a business leader, it’s not unusual to face employment lawsuits against you. If that happens and you successfully(or not) resolve the issue, you need to change the HR policies as soon as possible to avoid copycat suits. If one of your employees has successfully found a loophole in your policy, more of them might follow.
When updating the policies, consult your attorney about protecting yourself from further lawsuits and design the documentation around discipline and termination.
The Bottom Line
It’s almost always possible to settle the cases outside of court to save yourself from embarrassment and monetary losses. But even if you are not at fault, consult a lawyer and if needed, secure funds from lawsuit loan companies as soon as possible.
Don’t ignore the suit papers and stay cautious of copycat suits by revising your policies.
After receiving a lawsuit and hiring a lawyer, frame the response with their help and forward it expeditiously.