People are in business to make money; that much is easy enough to understand. However, the road to success in business is not always paved in gold. In fact, it can be fraught with more cracks, potholes and backed up with more traffic than I-10 on a Tuesday afternoon. Indeed, being in business can be fulfilling and profitable, but knowing what can get you into trouble and when you can seek remedies is just as important.
With that said, we will discuss several common causes of action that successful businesses may face.
Fraudulent misrepresentation – Also known commonly as fraud or intentional misrepresentation, this charge allows a business to seek a remedy due to harms experienced because the company relied on false statements. Basically, if an investment company provided money to a startup based on promises and projections that were knowingly false, the investor could seek a remedy.
Interference with prospective business advantage – When businesses get together to form a relationship, but it has not been formalized in a contract, a third party may not interfere and thwart the relationship. While this sounds like common sense, it may be surprising to know how many lawsuits include a claim like this. In order to prevail, an aggrieved company to show that the accused third party knew about the company’s business relationship, that relationship was interfered with, and the aggrieved company suffered as a result.
Interference with contractual relations – This claim allows a company to obtain a remedy based on a third party’s actions in interfering with an established, contractual relationship.
If you are a business owner and have additional questions about these and other claims, an experienced business litigation attorney can help