You Got Sued…now what?
Getting sued is like a punch to the gut. You are going about your normal day and then WHAM! you “get served” or receive some sort of legal demand letter or complaint. All of a sudden, your day turns horrible as you contemplate Lawsuit Survival. As a small business owner you have enough on your plate trying to run a business, as well as managing your clients and employees. A legal complaint can change everything in minutes.
Are You Sure You’re Being Sued?
Is this a lawsuit or a demand letter? First, realize that just because you receive a letter from a lawyer does not necessarily mean you have a lawsuit. In other words, the first step of Lawsuit Survival is figuring out if you are actually being sued. Lawyers typically issue you what is called a “Demand Letter” or “Cease and Desist Letter” before a lawsuit. This letter will usually spell out some of the facts (from their side), their demands, and the consequences of not heeding their demands. They are generally seriously phrased and official looking, causing recipients to go into a tizzy. If this is what you received from a lawyer or law firm, you haven’t been sued (yet).
Second, a lawsuit filed in almost every jurisdiction in the United States starts with what is known as “a complaint.” This is a formal document that contains the name of the parties and the court at the top. If a Demand Letter does not produce the desired results, lawyers usually file a complaint with the court. If you receive such a document, make sure it has been stamped by the court. Usually a complaint will include some sort of rubber stamp on the first or last page of the document, with the word “filed” or “entered” or “submitted” with a date and a filing (or entry) number. You can call the court clerk in the court where the complaint is allegedly from, to verify whether the complaint has actually been filed. It’s a common tactic for lawyers to draft a complaint and include that complaint in their initial demand letter. It goes something like this: “We’re lawyers. We’ve been hired by so-and-so to sue you. We’ve drafted a complaint and are prepared to file it, unless we receive some form of satisfactory response from you addressing our concerns.” If the complaint you received from the lawyer’s office hasn’t actually been filed, you haven’t been sued (yet).
Third, in spite of the seeming commonality of lawsuits, suing someone is actually very expensive, time consuming and requires lots of compelling evidence. Suing someone means taking time and resources (including paying an attorney) away from your business to pursue the lawsuit. Therefore, suing is generally (but not always) a last resort.
The Lawsuit
If you have been sued (a complaint has actually been filed with the court and an answer from you is due), then follow these steps for Lawsuit Survival:
Call your attorney immediately. The time to respond is very limited.
Read the Complaint and write notes on your reaction to each of the claims
Start locating your files, records, emails, etc. that refutes the claims made in the Complaint.
You need to give your attorney as much time as possible to form a proper response. To form a proper response, your attorney will need to review any and all information and documents involved in the matter, talk to the opposing attorney, perhaps interview other people, and form a reasoned response. There may be a number of court documents that need to be filed or responded to.
Don’t Contact The Party Suing You
Seriously, don’t do it. Resist the urge to call them and give them a piece of your mind. It doesn’t matter if they are an employee, ex-employee, family member, neighbor or customer, calling them could only hurt your case. Legal cases are won and lost on the most arcane application of the facts to the law, laws that you are untrained in dealing with or may not even know exist. You could inadvertently lose your case by saying or doing something antithetical to your case. Let your lawyer deal with the opposing side, and he or she may be able to win a settlement for you that would be FAR CHEAPER for you, then you taking matters into your own hands. Don’t listen to your ego and potentially make things more difficult to resolve.
Identify Your Goals
Do you just want the lawsuit to go away? Do you want to set a precedent? Are there other issues that could come into play? Do you need to protect sensitive information or your company’s reputation? What budget can you make available to this lawsuit? Is insurance a factor?
Contact Your Insurance Carrier
Most insurance carriers require notification within a few days of receiving notification of a lawsuit. Depending on the nature of the claim, and the nature of your insurance, your carrier may or may not defend you. Some carriers will opt to pay for your defense, but with stipulations or conditions depending on certain factual circumstances. Get your insurance involved. It could save you big.
Will my lawsuit just go away? Settling and Surviving.
There are a few things you should keep in mind when dealing with a lawsuit. First, most lawsuits settle without ever going to court. Those that do go to court usually settle before there is a final judgement from the court. Therefore, there are lots of opportunities to settle.
Second, lawsuits are very expensive. Unless you are filthy rich, check your emotions at the door and make decisions based on economics. Economics may not be easy to calculate if you’re dealing with a lawsuit that impacts your company’s reputation or future earnings, but do your best to keep the emotions out of any decisions. Paying a plaintiff more than they deserve to make a problem go away may be the wisest business decision you can make.
Remember that it is very difficult to predict the outcome of a lawsuit, so trust your lawyer and lean on your lawyer to help you meet whatever long-term goals you set out for this litigation and stick to it.
Schedule a free consultation with our experience civil litigation team to discuss your situation today: 808-465-2500.
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