Business disputes are inevitable in many industries and cover a broad range of claims. Common business disputes include those related to contracts, real estate, insurance, unfair competition, land use, employment, civil rights, fraud, negligence, personal injury, consumer protection, trade secrets, and intellectual property. Ideally, business disputes are resolved informally without the involvement of other parties. When disputes cannot be resolved amicably, however, parties must seek the assistance of a “neutral party” to either decide the matter for them or to help them reach a negotiated solution. Litigation, arbitration, and mediation are the three most common dispute resolution options and are discussed in more detail below.

The term “civil litigation” refers to the process of resolving a non-criminal dispute in local, state, or federal court. Civil litigation includes proceedings before state and federal trial courts, courts of appeal, and supreme courts. A discussion of each of these types of courts follows.

Civil court cases are decided by a judge or a jury following a trial on the merits in which each side presents evidence as well as legal arguments. Sometimes cases are also decided by a judge through pre-trial briefing or by following a set procedure found in the rules of civil procedure or state or federal statutes. Once a judge or jury enters judgment, the parties have the option of appealing the judgment to an appellate court which reviews the decision for errors.

Once the trial court enters a final judgment, one or more of the parties may file an appeal to the court of appeals by a set deadline. A party who fails to timely file a notice of appeal will forfeit the right to appeal. To succeed on appeal, the appellant must establish that the trial court committed an error of law, a procedural error, or abused its discretion. Appellate courts do not re-try cases or make factual findings unless those findings can be made as a matter of law.

In the event a party is dissatisfied with the court of appeals’ opinion or perceives that the court has committed an error, that party may file a “petition for certiorari” with the highest appeals court in the jurisdiction, usually called the supreme court, within a set time. The supreme court is not required to hear the case and will only grant the petition for certiorari if there are compelling reasons for doing so. If the supreme court denies the petition for certiorari, then the appellate process ends and the court of appeals’ opinion stands.

Parties to a contract may agree to have their disputes decided by a private, paid arbitrator or panel of arbitrators instead of a judge. The terms of an arbitration agreement vary from contract to contract and control how the arbitration proceeds. Arbitration is typically binding, less formal and resolved more quickly than litigation, and often (though not always) less expensive than going to court.

Mediation is a process in which a neutral, trained mediator helps parties negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution to the parties’ dispute. The mediator does not decide the case or tell the parties what to do. In most instances, mediation is confidential. Mediation may be a contractual pre-requisite to filing a lawsuit or commencing arbitration proceedings, ordered by a court, or voluntary. Mediation often ends with the parties signing a written settlement agreement. If the parties do not resolve their dispute in mediation, they may initiate or continue a case in court or arbitration.

BHGR’s lawyers have helped hundreds of clients resolve their disputes through civil litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts across the country, through domestic and international arbitration, and through mediation as well as in other hybrid alternative dispute resolution forums. If you have questions about a business dispute or available options for resolving that dispute, contact BHGR’s Litigation, Appellate, and ADR Groups today.