You may never want to have someone taking your business to court, however, it may happen nevertheless. At times things might go wrong between your organization and an employee, customer or other business. If this should happen and the complainant decides to take you to court, you will have to do a number of things before the actual court date arrives.
So what are the things you should cover after knowing that someone out there is suing your firm?
Find an attorney and review the case with them
After receiving lawsuit papers, the first step you should take is to make sure to hire a qualified business lawyer to carefully review them with you. Lawsuits come in various forms such as accidents, workers’ compensation, and tax as well as others. You will need someone competent that knows the law well in your corner to help you get through them. Take for example, if someone sues your company over an accident injury, instead of responding to the complainant incorrectly, you should consult some experts that can explain the document to you in a simple manner and will give you legal representation when the time comes. Some things that your expert law team will advise you to do is check the lawsuit’s caption and service information to ensure that it contains in writing the name of the right person who is trying to claim compensation from your company. If this information is incorrect, the expert law team that you employ will move swiftly to dismiss the lawsuit. However, if the information is correct, with the help of your lawyers, you should review the document carefully and then your attorneys will move to place a preservation order or litigation hold in place.
Let your insurance company know about the lawsuit
Most companies tend to take out an insurance policy to cover them just in case someone should bring a lawsuit against them. Insurance companies offer various types of policies to companies to protect them if a lawsuit should arise. Therefore, a further step you should take after receiving suit papers is for you to get in touch with your insurance company. Let them know what type of lawsuit you are facing and ask them if the policy you have will cover or minimize your losses, especially if you should get a bad ruling from the judge. Additionally, you must carefully make sure that you never jump to the assumption that your insurance company will completely cover everything that the lawsuit mentions. It’s best that you bring the matter before them and even send them a copy of the suit documents to review. They will, in turn, let you know where the insurance company stands.
Decide what actions you will take
It is important that you decide what action to take and the response necessary to send back to the complainant once a lawsuit reaches your hand. Legally you will be given about 30 days to respond to the issued lawsuit. When you respond, your answer must include things like your admittance or denial of the plaintiff’s claim, your defense to the claim of the person, your decision on whether you will allow the court to deal with the issue or/and in the event if you should choose to meet with the person to agree. If you should ignore the suit, you will be putting yourself at the mercy of the court. Therefore, when the lawsuit is presented to you, consult your attorneys on the matter and ask them to help you decide on a course of action.
Disassociate yourself with the person or firm suing your business
While the lawsuit is still active, it’s best to disassociate yourself with the party doing the suing for obvious reasons. Regardless of how close you are to the plaintiff, it’s best to avoid all communications with him or her, at least until the lawsuit is over. If you have to communicate with the person doing the suing, you should only do so through your lawyer.
Ensure the continuity of your business
At times, a lawsuit may affect the functions of a business and cause it to lose customers and profits. In the event of a lawsuit filed against your company, you should ensure the continuity of your business. To make sure that your company is growing and still turning a profit, you can boost up customer service, increase your company’s social media presence online and offer discounts and incentives to your customers.
A court proceeding called against your organization is not the end of the world. However, with careful planning and wise actions taken on your part, you can beat the odds and come out on top or at least minimize the damages done to your organization. Ensure that you follow the steps given in this article to better know how to handle an industry grievance.
