Slate Stern Law has extensive experience handling a wide array of commercial and business litigation cases to include contract disputes, property rights disputes, breach of contract disputes, construction disputes, commercial torts, deceptive trade practices, fraud claims, partnership disputes, insurance and bad faith claims, commercial debt disputes, conversion or theft claims, employment disputes, and shareholder litigation. We understand that litigation can put at risk everything our clients have worked so hard to achieve. Our mission is to help our clients resolve their business disputes through the most efficient means available.
The following are examples of some of the types of injury cases we handle:
Commercial Litigation
Commercial enterprises face a number of challenges that they must address in order to protect their interests and stay competitive. For example, intellectual property matters may threaten the exclusivity and profitability of a business. Unfair or deceptive trade practices could cause similarly harmful consequences. It is important to identify and deal with these situations quickly and decisively in order to preserve a business and its future success.
Partnership and Shareholder Disputes
Many businesses are owned by more than one person. Even privately owned businesses can be owned or managed by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people. Naturally, disagreements arise in connection with the operation of a business; however, allegations of oppressive or unlawful conduct can lead to bitter litigation between owners, partners, or shareholders—putting the future, expansion, control, or even dissolution of a business into question.
Business Fraud
Business fraud can arise in every industry and in every type of business relationship. While the facts and details are always different, these cases usually involve allegations that somebody lied or did not disclose the complete truth. Slate Stern represents plaintiffs in disputes involving allegations of business fraud. Slate Stern has recovered substantial amounts for businesses as plaintiffs in cases of business fraud cases.
Breach of Contract
One of the most fundamental business disputes is a breach of contract. Ultimately, when someone breaches a contract, an election has to be made about whether to institute some legal proceeding. Depending on the contract, a proper forum may be in state or federal court, or in some other contracted forum such as arbitration.
Interference with Prospective Contracts
While tortious interference deals with claims made when a contract is already in place, there is another category for relationships that have not yet been made official. Interference with prospective contracts deals with just that—attempting to prevent a contract from being agreed to by two parties. As business disputes go, such conduct is illegal.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
The law recognizes the existence of fiduciary duties resulting for special relationships of trust or confidence in certain individuals. Fiduciary duties can arise out of formal relationships, such as a lawyer or partner, or even informal relationships, if the specific facts or circumstances require the imposition of fiduciary duties.
Business Torts
The law recognizes a wide variety of business torts which may arise under a number of circumstances, such as during the sale or acquisition of a business, when one business unlawfully interferes with a contract or relationship, or when a former employee steals proprietary and confidential trade secrets.
Tortious Interference
Tortious interference claims may arise when a party unlawfully interferes with an existing contract or prospective business relations. Either scenario can result in a lost deal, rejected bid, or canceled contract that otherwise would have come to fruition. Invariably, such a loss can result in losses of thousands, millions, or even billions of dollars.
Trade Secrets
The difference between success and failure in the fiercely competitive world of business and commerce can come down to a unique idea, innovation, formula, strategy, or process. It is paramount that businesses protect this information and secure its confidentiality to ensure it does not end up in the hands of the competition.
Unfair Competition
Unfair competition refers primarily to dishonest or deceptive practices that cause economic injury to businesses. The doctrine of “unfair competition” has been recognized by New Mexico courts as an umbrella category arising out of business conduct contrary to honest practices in business.
