There are many different instances where commercial litigation lawyers can provide valuable help to a business owner. For example, when a tenant is refusing to pay the rent, when a commercial landlord is neglectful of repairs, when goods are not delivered by a supplier, or when a customer refuses to pay your fee. There are many additional circumstances in addition to these that can demand the knowledge and skill of commercial litigation lawyers, but this article will dive into the four already mentioned.
Tenant Refusing to Pay Rent
In this instance, the first thing you should do is communicate with your tenant. If this doesn’t help to solvethe problem, you can get your commercial litigation lawyers to issue a Notice of Breach, which explains what the fault of the tenant is and allows 14 days for them to rectify it – i.e. pay the rent. If no payment is forthcoming after 14 days, the lease can be terminated. Even after termination, you can still act on your right to sue the tenant with help from acommercial litigation lawyer.
Landlord Neglectful
A tenant of an office building isn’t asked to fix a problem with the premises unless they have caused it by doing something deliberately unhelpful. If you notice something in need of repair, you must immediately notify the landlord. If the repairs needed are urgent, the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) states that the tenant can arrange for urgent repairs at the landlord’s cost. If you’re not sure of the legalities of this kind of situation, you can consult your commercial litigation lawyers for advice. They will tell you to serve the landlord with notice communicating the repairs and cost within 14 days of them having been done.
Goods Not Delivered by Supplier
If you’ve paid for a delivery from a supplier but have received nothing from them, then you must contact them and ask for delivery. If you have already done this and nothing has happened, try sending a Letter of Demand. If you’re not sure how to create a letter of demand, you can consult with your commercial litigation lawyers. A Letter of Demand must state what is owed by the supplier, and the dollar amount of this. It must also specify that failure to deliver goods or issue a refund will result in legal proceedings. If it comes to that state of affairs, your commercial litigation lawyers will be able to help you.
Customer Not Paying Invoice
Have you sent the customer a payment reminder? Do this first. It’s possible that the payment has just slipped their mind. However, if you don’t get an answer, your commercial litigation lawyers will likely tell you to issue a Letter of Demand. This letter needs to indicate the circumstances of the debt and the numerical figure owed. A statement must also be on the letter that if payment is not made within a certain period, legal proceedings will result. If the customer still doesn’t pay, legal action may need to be taken.
