Contract disputes can come up any time two parties are not clear on what each of their obligations are, since miscommunication is one of the leading reasons why these types of legal issues arise. As an attorney who handles business litigation, residential leasing, and personal injury lawsuits in Charlotte, NC, Chris Shelburn has helped clients settle all types of disputes.
At the Law Office of Christopher W. Shelburn, PLLC, Shelburn frequently sees people who need help settling arguments over who was responsible for what, as per the terms of a specific contract. He says that he helps clients put together new contracts too, and that the more precise a contract is when it is created, the less likely it is that an attorney will need to be brought in to sort things out should a problem between the parties ever arise.
Shelburn explains that the most common disputes he sees involve unpaid bills or products that one party feels were not delivered on time. “If somebody hires a contractor to fix up a new retail space, and then the retailer goes out of business, then the contractor will oftentimes be stuck with the unpaid costs,” he says. “So more times than not, that type of case would boil down to a basic contract dispute.”
The first thing that any attorney should look at in a contract dispute is whether there was ever really a contract that both parties signed in the first place. “Some people think they are signing a contract, when all they are really signing is an agreement to form a contract down the line,” he says.
As an example of this type of dispute, Shelburn brings up the case of a buyer and a supplier. He says that just because the buyer read the supplier’s terms and conditions policy does not necessarily mean that the two parties ever entered into an actual contract. In addition, even if the buyer did sign a contract, that would not necessarily mean that the contract he signed is bound by the same terms and conditions that were found on the supplier’s website.
Additional problems can arise in the area of contract law when the terms of a contract are too ambiguous or uncertain, Shelburn explains. He frequently sees people who simply relied on their own understanding of the terms they read—to their own detriment. People who are not attorneys can have a very different understanding of contracts and agreements than someone who has received the training to be able to read these types of agreements. This is why it pays to have a professional look at any contracts before signing them.
Shelburn says that simply being under the impression that a contract implied something, when it was not implicitly written in the agreement, is not grounds to file a lawsuit. Failing to read a contract is not an excuse either, although Shelburn says that people try using that as a way to get out of agreements all the time.
If you are about to sign a contract, then Shelburn says that the best thing to do—and the best way to avoid further litigation down the road—is to read it carefully and look for any parts that could potentially be construed in two different manners. “If there is anything in there that is ambiguous or could be read two different ways, then you need to change it,” he says.
Shelburn, a business attorney who also practices real estate and personal injury law in Charlotte, NC, says that many people entering into contracts these days regard the process as “no big deal.” However, entering into a contract is a big deal, and if something happens and a dispute does arise, then you will wish you had spoken to a lawyer beforehand. Having a contract amended or altered before signing it is much cheaper than going through the litigation after you have already entered into the agreement.
Many contracts will include arbitration clauses that bind the parties if they do ever have a dispute. These clauses can limit the methods of settling the dispute, and could end up limiting one party’s rights if one arbitration method is likely to be more favorable than another—such as if one state’s laws are more favorable to the supplier in a contract, and the agreement states that any litigation must be handled in that specific state.
Having an attorney review a contract before signing it is a very wise option, and one that could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
