A New Jersey Breach of Contract Lawyer Helping Businesses and Individuals Manage Their Contract Disputes

Contracts are perhaps the lifeblood of every business. Because they are so common, however, their importance is often overlooked. As a result, businesses enter into one-sided, poorly drafted contracts or neglect to truly understand what the contract requires. When disputes arise, you need to understand your options—what your remedies are and the potential outcomes, whether you should mitigate or you should settle. New Jersey breach of contract lawyer Daniel P. Silberstein has over 25 years of experience helping businesses and individuals navigate breach of contract claims to reach the outcome they need.

Did You Actually Have a New Jersey Contract?

One of the issues that are often overlooked is whether you even had a contract in the first place. For example, promises are not contracts. In order to establish that there was an enforceable contract, you or the other party must be able to prove the following elements:

• Offer – Did one party make an offer to the other party to provide goods or services?
• Acceptance – Did the non-offering party accept the offer?
• Consideration – Were the offer and acceptance predicated upon an exchange of value of some kind?
• Mutual assent – Did the parties intend to create a contract?

In some situations, it may seem obvious that a contract was created. In other situations, prolonged negotiation may mean that it’s unclear whether there was any acceptance. In other cases, consideration may have never been exchanged. Whatever the case may be, a New Jersey breach of contract lawyer will review your dispute and determine whether there is a contract that can be enforced.

How Do You Show a Contact Was Breached?

It is usually obvious in most breach of contract cases that one of the parties has broken the contract. However, there may be some debate as to whether one party’s breach justified the other party’s breach. The parties may disagree over whether there was a “material” breach or whether the parties failed to meet the notice requirements imposed by the contract. These are factual issues that may seem straightforward but may require careful review.

Regardless, the challenge in many cases is determining the harm suffered by the non-breaching party. This can involve a complex economic analysis to calculate your damages. For example, it may involve considering the cost of lost opportunities, current and future lost profits, harm to your reputation, and whether you have an obligation to minimize those losses.

A New Jersey breach of contract attorney will know what evidence you need to prove your case as well as how to calculate the damages you may be entitled to. This will allow you to negotiate from a position of strength if settlement is an option while remaining ready to litigate in order to enforce the contract and protect your rights.

What Are Your Legal Options for Resolving a Contract Dispute?

When facing a contract dispute, there are things you need to consider that will determine how to proceed:

1. What remedies you may be entitled to pursue; and
2. What avenues are available in order to resolve your dispute.

As to the first question, it is important to understand that you may be entitled to more than just monetary damages. First, you may be able to pursue rescission of the contract, a remedy whereby the contract is canceled, and the parties move forward as if the contract never occurred. You may be able to pursue the reformation of the contract, whereby the court rewrites the contract in order to resolve the dispute. Lastly, you may be able to seek specific performance—a court order requiring the other party to perform their obligations under the contract. What remedies you can pursue will play an important role in determining how you proceed. A New Jersey breach of contract lawyer can develop an effective legal strategy uniquely designed to obtain the results.

Will My New Jersey Breach of Contract Lawyer Have to Take My Case to Court?

While most disputes are resolved without going to court, sometimes litigation is your best option to obtain a fair result. This could be because your case involves complex legal issues or simply because the other party is being unreasonable. Whatever the case may be, litigation can be time-consuming and expensive.

Alternative dispute resolution or ADR has become increasingly popular in recent years. Generally speaking, there are two types of ADR available in breach of contract claims:

1. Mediation – a process by which the parties meet with a neutral third-party mediator who helps the parties reach a mutually acceptable agreement to resolve the dispute.
2. Arbitration – a quasi-judicial process where the dispute is decided by a neutral third-party arbitrator (often a retired judge).

Whether mediation or arbitration, the advantages of ADR are that they are usually faster and less expensive than traditional litigation. However, both mediation and arbitration have their disadvantages – the facts and legal issues may not be given the attention they deserve, especially in complex cases. In addition, they aren’t always the best option in every case. A New Jersey breach of contract lawyer can help you decide the best course of action for resolving your dispute.

Mired in a Contract Dispute? Contact New Jersey Breach of Contract Lawyer Daniel P. Silberstein for Help

If you are facing a contract dispute and are not sure what to do, we can help. Call or email us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your case; the sooner you call, the sooner we can start working towards a resolution.  Our office is conveniently located in Union County, New Jersey, and we serve clients in Newark, Elizabeth, and more.