Common Utah Business Disputes

Common Utah Business Disputes

When you first start your business, you’re dreamy-eyed, excited, full of hope, confident, excited, and perhaps a teensy-bit scared to death. The thought of both success and failure keeps you up at night. At Howard Lewis & Petersen, we congratulate all business owners for striking out and daring to make their dreams a reality. Unfortunately, the longer you’re in business, the higher the chance you have of experiencing a common Utah business dispute. Read on to see how Provo business attorneys can help.

Popular Business Disputes

In all businesses, dispute types run through common themes. No matter what industry you’re in, here are the typical business disputes you’ll find.

• Unpaid Wages. Claims of unpaid wages are severe. Do everything possible to find the accounting of your payroll transactions to verify you’ve paid the employee. If not, remedy it by paying what you owe immediately. If you’ve paid the wages in full, then provide the accounting transactions to the employee as proof.
• Breach Of Contract. One person believes a contract is broken when one party fails to live up to their side of the agreement. These types of conflicts can happen between customer and business, business to business, or business to the vendor. Sometimes these are just misunderstandings, and other times, true loss of income can be sustained.
• Personal Injury Claims. These happen when someone slips or falls on company property, for example. Due to the complexity of these claims, you’ll want the help of an attorney.
• Withdrawal amounts when a business dissolves. When a company dissolves, payouts need to be made to all business partners according to the formation paperwork and other contracts.
• Payouts to partners who want out. Sometimes a business partner wants to exit the transaction, and there is a dispute about how much they feel they are owed.

Sometimes these disputes can be resolved on their own, and sometimes you’ll need a little help.

How to Solve Utah Business Disputes

There are only three options to solve Utah business disputes, with one of those having a variation tossed in. In all cases, be prepared to negotiate.

1. Block of some time to discuss things face-to-face. Keep the meeting brief, to one hour at the most, and come to the table with each party having outlined a plan for the meeting. A meeting like this is not uncommon to other business meetings you conduct. This meeting will only surround the conflict you’re experiencing and proposed solutions. The variation here is that if there is great conflict and the other party wants you to discuss the matter with someone else who feels more comfortable discussing things rationally, then be prepared to speak to that person instead.
2. Meet with the party in dispute during an arbitration. Arbitration is like the business meeting above, except it’s more formal, usually legally binding (especially if your formation paperwork says it will be), and conducted by a neutral third party.
3. File for a lawsuit. While all qualified Utah business attorneys are equipped to battle out business disputes in court, it’s not our preferred option for settling the conflict. It can be expensive and strain or permanently damage relationships between individuals. As Provo business lawyers, we work with you to exhaust all other possible options first.

Consider Working with Business Lawyers in Provo UT

Working with a Utah business disputes attorney helps remove emotion and tension out of the situation. They’re able to come into the problem with a fresh pair of eyes, legal knowledge that protects your interests, and with a goal of a quick resolution. They will examine the contract, email communications, weigh verbal claims, consider everything, and determine a proper course.

Contact Your Trusted Business Attorneys in Provo UT

We serve the legal business needs of Provo, UT, and the greater surrounding areas. At Howard Lewis & Petersen, we love helping the community business owners strengthen their legal positions and increase the depth of their business relationships. Contact us to get on our calendar so we can help you solve any business conflict you might be experiencing.