West London Solicitors

Commercial Disputes and Litigation FAQs – West London Solicitors

Will I have to go to court ?

This entirely depends on:

• The other party’s willingness to negotiate
• How “mature” the dispute is
• Whether all other methods of dispute resolution (such as Alternate Dispute Resolution, which includes mediation and arbitration) have been exhausted

Going to court should be considered a last option because it can be costly, time consuming and stressful.

What is mediation ?

Mediation involves bringing the two parties to the dispute together to negotiate a settlement to resolve the dispute using the services of a mediator, usually someone who has experience of resolving disputes of the type you are experiencing.

What is arbitration ?

Arbitration is similar to a traditional courts in the sense a “judge” i.e. an arbitrator is charged to come to a decision on a particular dispute in favour of one of the parties.

What are the benefits of mediation and arbitration?

These methods of dispute resolution are sometimes

• Cheaper
• Quicker
• Less stressful

I have employed the services of a accountant who cost us a lot of money through his own errors.  Can I sue him ?

Yes, it is certainly possible to take legal action against the accountant as a catalogue of errors would suggest you have a case in professional negligence against the accountant.  However, as noted in the previous question, it is better to pursue claims outside of court if possible, and this is particularly appropriate for professional negligence claims as your claim will lie against the accountant’s professional indemnity insurance provider.

Professional negligence involves asking whether a duty of care existed between you and the accountant and whether that duty of care was in fact breached.  With professional negligence cases, it is not usually difficult to prove that a duty of care existed as this can be evidence by the existence of a contract.  The more tricky part is proving whether that duty was actually breached, and if the case goes to court, it may be necessary to use expert witnesses to prove this.

What is involved in debt recovery ?

The first step to recover a debt is to have a solicitor to send a letter of claim to the debtor.  This may prove sufficient to get back the debt.  However, if it is not sufficient, the next step could be sending the debtor a statutory demand, which is a type of document authorised by the law which demands the debtor pays the debt within 18 days or brings a counter-claim against you.  If you use a statutory demand, it is wise to be prepared to bring bankruptcy proceedings against the debtor, which can only be brought for debts larger than £750.  The lalternative is to make an application to the County Court, which has three tracks:

• Small Claims – for small debts up to £5,000
• Fast Track – for debts from £5,000 to £25,000
• Multi Track – for debts larger than £25,000