Commercial Disputes

With Your Legal GP

Commercial disputes are conflicts arising between businesses or parties engaged in commercial activities, with the most common reasons being non-payment of invoices and disagreements over contract terms. While the value of a dispute can range from a few thousand to millions of pounds, the reasons for conflicts are often similar. Even the most complex and high value cases can lend themselves to mediation, rather than, or before, going to court:

• Time-consuming litigation: Taking your commercial dispute to court can take 1 to 2 years to conclude, with more complex cases taking up to 5 years.
• Stretched courts and disproportionate costs: Courts are stretched and costs can be disproportionate. It is expected that, prior to taking your case to court to be resolved, you should try to settle using one of the ADR methods. Once a conclusion is reached, most agreements can be formalised by way of a court order.
• Costly outcomes: Commercial disputes may also be defamatory. In a dispute over who should pay for work carried out to a private drain, an award of £4,227 was made to the claimants. The Court of Appeal disagreed with the judgement and the claimants did not receive any money. The total costs of the dispute reached £310,000, seventy times the value of the initial award. It pays to compromise!
• Mediation penalties: If you and the other party cannot agree using ADR, litigation remains available to you to have the dispute heard and decided by a judge. For refusal to engage in mediation, you are likely to be penalised when you get to court, usually with regard to costs, which can be substantial.

Your Legal GP can help you decide how you manage your dispute in the most effective way.

Read more about commercial dispute costs