Commercial Litigation

Whether you're forming a new entity, adding a new partner or shareholder, developing a new product, or inking a deal with a new contract partner, you inevitably do so with the highest of hopes and expectations. Unfortunately, though, the real world is full of situations where that doesn't come to fruition and your business suffered harm as a result. If your business has incurred that kind of damage, then the Maryland commercial litigation lawyers at Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC are here to help.

One of the most common breakdowns that can lead to litigation occurs when someone with whom you signed a contract fails to live up to their end of the bargain. Whether they were a supplier, a vendor, a distributor, a manufacturer, or a consultant, when they fail to deliver on the promises they made in the agreement, your business is the one that suffers the damage.

When that happens, you can take that other entity or person to court and potentially recover various types of damages. Maryland law recognizes nominal damages, compensatory and liquidated damages, punitive damages, and specific performance as possible remedies when a contract party has been proven to have breached their agreement.

Sometimes, people or entities can harm your business outside of a contractual relationship. These kinds of wrongs are called business torts. One of the more common of these is something called tortious interference of contract. If you think that a third party has intentionally taken steps to inject itself into a relationship between you and a contract partner, then you can pursue this kind of lawsuit.

In Maryland, winning a tortious interference lawsuit means proving several things. For success, you need evidence (1) of a valid contract, (2) of the interfering party's knowledge of that agreement, (3) of intentional action by the interfering party that induced your contract partner to breach or made fulfilling the contract terms impossible, (4) of your contract partner's breach or failure to perform, and (5) of the damages you suffered as a result.

Like marriages, not all business relationships last forever. Sometimes, a fresh start is necessary. If you're looking to dissolve a partnership, be aware that this is more than just divvying up the asset and "closing up shop."

If you have a well-drafted partnership agreement, it probably will lay out how such a split should occur, and then you must simply ensure that the plan you put into practice complies with the agreement. If not, you have to take careful steps to avoid missteps that can have undesirable legal impacts.

Shareholders have certain rights generally, such as the right to inspect the entity's books and records. They also have a right to pursue something called a derivative action. In this type of lawsuit, the shareholder sues on behalf of the entity. Frequently, a shareholder is allowed to use this type of action when the entity has a valid basis for a lawsuit but refuses to file that action itself.

Sometimes, as a business, you may be positioned to defeat a shareholder's legal action when that shareholder asserts a direct action but the law says that the shareholder is only allowed to seek relief through a derivative action, or when a shareholder has filed a derivative action but has not met all the law's specific requirements for these types of lawsuits.

Confidential proprietary materials are the lifeblood of many businesses. Whether it's a recipe, computer software code, or a sales presentation script, there are things not known outside your business that you may consider the secrets to your success. When someone misappropriates your trade secrets or divulges them without permission, the harm to your business can be massive, making prompt and proper legal action essential.

Unfair competition occurs when another business harms your business through the use of "fraud, deceit, trickery, or unfair methods." If someone has used deceptive tactics to create confusion among consumers that benefitted its business and harmed yours, you may have the components of an unfair competition case.

If someone has engaged in misconduct and your business paid the price for it, you need a powerful and skillful advocate in your corner. The knowledgeable and aggressive Maryland commercial litigation attorneys at the offices of Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC are here to provide that kind of powerful legal representation to you. Call us at (301) 519-2801, or submit our online contact form today.