Court Proceedings For Broken Contract Cases

A contractual agreement is a legal one. This means that the parties to the contract have agreement to be bound to each other by a promise which if breached would attract legal consequences. Therefore the defaulting party, i.e. the party that does not go along with the promise can be sued in a court of law. Depending where you are residing in the world, there is the most likely situation that your country will have specific laws relating to breach of contract and a legal process of how you can seek remedy in the court of your country. In some countries a breach can be settled by a mediation process whereby both parties to the contract in the event of a dispute will agree to meet a learned person or a village elder and ask the person to be a mediator. The role of the mediator is to hear both sides of the story and decide who is right and who is wrong and what compensation should be paid.

In many developed countries, there are well established legal systems that will provide the platform to bring a legal action. So for a broken contract the first thing you got to ask yourself is whether you really want to sue the breaching party or not. Sometimes it might not be worth the effort to sue as the amount or issue concern is so trivial that it would be a waste of the court's time. Think about it - would you want to sue for being served your meal late in a restaurant? Or that the free gift that was promised when you made a sale turns out to be defective? The thing here is that you are within your right to sue, but life is too short to waste time and effort in these kinds of situation. Unless of course you really got nothing else to do in your life.

However if the contract that you are in consist of a substantial value or that you stand to lose lots of money then you should consider bring this case to court. This is where you might need to engage the services of a lawyer. Some lawyers might charge you a flat rate to handle your case. Others might want a percentage of the sum given to you if you win the case. Yet there are other lawyers who might handle a case on a pro bono basis. This means that they do it for you absolutely free of any charges. Of course, you might ask why would any lawyer be out of his mind to do such a thing? There are many reasons both personal to the lawyer and others. So if do have such a lawyer - ask him or her?

Otherwise, the lawyer will not assist you in bringing the case to court. But usually this is the last resort. What the lawyer will try to do is to see whether it would be possible to settle the issue out of court. This might involve some arm-twisting and tough negotiation. It is a likely chance that the other party might not have intended you to go this far and might quickly back out and settle the matter as amicably as possible. Then again the other party might also feel that he or she is in the right and may decide to take you on in the court of law. If this happens your lawyer might issue a writ of summon for a court proceeding. A date will be fixed for you and the other party to attend court and state your claim. There will be a presiding judge who will hear the case. Even at this stage it is not too late to change your mind and resolve the issue out of court. If this is not possible at all then a date will set whereby the lawyers for both side will built up the case against each other. This is where your lawyer will try to adduce evidences and information that will help your case. At this stage you have to work closely with your lawyer to give him/her all the information that is required to strengthen your case. Eventually the case goes to court at which stage the person suing will be referred to as the plaintiff and the person being sued being referred as the defendant.

In many countries there are different levels of courts. Some hearing cases amounting to a few thousand dollars to others which are higher up the ladder hearing cases that might go into millions of dollars. So depending the amount of compensation that you intend to claim the case will go to the appropriate court which your lawyer will recommend. Note that the higher up the court, the more expensive it will for you and if you lose then there is a lot of money you need to pay your lawyer and the winning party.

So you really need to consider all the possible scenarios before you embark on getting justice for your broken contract. Personally, I would prefer as far as possible to try to resolve the dispute without the need to go to court or engaging a lawyer.

Dr Daniel Theyagu is a corporate trainer and seminar leader who has designed and conducted competency-based training for more than 150 organizations. He is based in Singapore and can be reached at dtheyagu@singnet.com.sg. Website: http://www.thinklaterally.com/

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Tips to Representing Yourself in a Drink Driving Court Appearance

10 Practical tips for representing yourself in a drink driving charge
1. Be truthful to the court. Most Magistrates are very experienced and will normally see through made up excuses. You are more likely to get a better result by saying less than making up a story and being caught out lying.

2. Be prepared. Most people get nervous when they appear for themselves. This may cause you to forget to mention something important. If you have a list of things that you want to tell the court this will help you when things become stressful.

3. Knowing what not to say is almost as important as what you say. It is difficult to instruct you what not to say. But you should not exaggerate your story as to why you were drink driving or refer to penalties that friends may have received for similar offences.

4. Tell the court about your ability to pay a fine including:

· Your occupation
· How much you earn each week
· How much you pay for rent or as a mortgage payment
· Any other debts you have
· How many people you support

5. Tell the court how a criminal conviction may affect your future. If this is your first offence then you might want to advise the court about the following:

· Whether a criminal record will affect your ability to work now or in the future. You will need to provide some evidence of this if you want the Magistrate to take this seriously.
· Whether a criminal record would affect your travel plans. If these travel plans have been booked you should provide the court with copies of the booking documents. In most western countries except Canada a conviction for a drink driving offence will not affect your ability to enter that country.

6. Tell the court about your need for a drivers licence. If you are going to lose your job if you lose your licence you should have a letter from your employer saying this clearly.

7. Tell the court about your previous good character. If you have down charity work in the past or you have major achievements in your life you should provide the court with some proof of these. If you drive a lot of kilometres each year you should prove this by either a log book or the car service records.

8. Hand up well drafted character references. These references should paint a picture of your character. The person writing the reference should give examples of good things you have done. If in the past you have taken steps to stop others drink driving this should be mentioned.

Let me give you an example of what could be included in a reference to bring your character to life:
"Ben Smith is very generous with his time and his money. I remember driving home and seeing our elderly neighbour struggling to remove graffiti from his fence. Ben went missing for a while and about 1/2 hour later I saw Ben with our elderly neighbour removing the graffiti from the fence with a scrubbing brush and cleaning equipment he had bought from the hardware store. Ben spent the next five hours with our neighbour until it was all removed. This is but one example of how generous Ben is to others."

9. Do not speak while the Magistrate is sentencing you, unless you are asked a specific question. This is likely to be seen by the Magistrate as disrespectful.

10. If you do not like the penalty the Magistrate hands down you should not argue with them. In all drink driving matters dealt with in New South Wales, Australia you have a right to appeal the sentence of a magistrate to the District Court. You have 28 days to appeal and up to 3 months with the leave of the District Court.

Lionel Rattenbury is a Partner of Armstrong Legal. Lionel has over 20 years experience in criminal law and writes a criminal law text book. He is an Accredited specialist in criminal law. Armstrong Legal is Australia's largest private criminal law firm. To view articles about drink driving on the Armstrong Legal website please follow this link: http://www.armstronglegal.com.au/

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Solve Problems at Home Rather Than in Court

If you're having problems at home or in the workplace it seems that for some, going straight to a law court is the obvious and easy solution. However, there are so many other options available to us nowadays that this notion is simply a waste of time and money.

Mediation services are increasingly being used throughout all walks of life. Neighbourly disputes take up valuable time in the courts as well as being hugely expensive to all involved. These disputes can stem from very small issues but they end up escalating and becoming something much more than they are. It can be difficult to see solutions to problems when you are directly involved, which is where third party independent mediators come in to play.

Disputes between neighbours can vary and will often range from loud noise complaints, to abusive language. No matter how small the argument may seem, it doesn't mean that a mediator cannot be of use to you. In fact, it is better in the long run to seek help from a mediator early on in the argument, in order to save your relationship before it is too damaged.

These kinds of mediators can help you solve your disputes without the need for any kind of legal involvement. It isn't that they will attempt to find a winner and a loser within the argument, but that instead they will help you talk to each other in a reasoned manner. Discussion is welcomed and encouraged whereas blame and conflict is not.

Sometimes if an argument has been ongoing, then those involved tend to dig up things from the past. Holding onto grudges will not help anybody move forward, it will only hold those involved back. A mediator can help you and your neighbour to let go of these past problems and work towards a civil and healthy relationship.

We all know what it's like to be locked in a battle with someone. Often it can seem difficult to let go of the conflict as we don't know what our relationship would be like if we were not arguing. Hopefully by the end of your session with a mediator you will be able to redefine your relationship and work towards a better future.

If you're having problems with neighbours then seeking mediation help might be a good idea. Some council's even offer it as a free service, run by trained volunteers. Mediation can also help with personal family relationships and relationships within the workplace. The skills you learn from sessions can be invaluable in all walks of life. You may even consider taking a course to learn more about mediation, or decide to become a mediator yourself in order to help others.

About Mediation at Work

Conflict resolution training is available to anybody. Mediation training courses can provide you with the skills you need to help your neighbours and co-workers.

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