Business Law Attorney - San Diego California

Business Disputes and Business Lawsuits

It is a natural part of life that sometimes business disputes arise. The causes can be as innocent as unmet expectations and miscommunications to more troubling breaches of contract, negligence, collections and even business fraud. Of course, it is best to try to resolve any dispute before it arises to the level of business litigation. Often, open communication, which can be mediated or aided by an experienced attorney, can help resolve conflicts and disputes before they get out of hand.

Hire Experienced Business Litigation Counsel

Unfortunately, there are times when some business disputes can only effectively be resolved by filing a law suit or through business litigation. It is the purpose of the civil courts to aid in conflict resolution by providing a neutral trier of fact to discover what has occurred and to work out an equitable solution to the business dispute. With the written rules of discovery and evidence, engaging a court in helping to resolve your dispute creates a fair playing field where each party can be equally heard. However, to navigate the court system, and get the best outcome, it is helpful to have an attorney with trial experience to guide you through the process. Trial attorneys have the advantage of knowing the rules of civil procedure, evidence, discovery and law and motion practice which are all essential to obtaining a beneficial outcome. Moreover, many experienced trial attorneys have experience in appearing before the very judges who hear cases in your local courts. This experience helps them provide the proper communication style to effectively bring cases before local judges. Finding the right attorney to help you resolve your business dispute can be a daunting task. Look for an attorney with local experience, who has successfully handled your type of dispute before.

Hire Local Counsel

If you are a litigant in a case in the San Diego California courts and are represented by counsel in a state other than California, be aware that you will need to hire local counsel within the state of California to assist you in the courts here. The experienced business litigators at Gaston & Gaston APLC can act as local counsel for you and act in conjunction with your out of state counsel to ensure that your case adheres to the local rules and does not fail because of a misstep tied to a technical violation of local civil procedure.

Act before the Statue of Limitations runs out

If you have been served with a complaint in a business or commercial litigation lawsuit in the state or federal courts located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County or Orange County, please contact the experienced business litigators at Gaston & Gaston APLC for a no coast evaluation. Once you have been served with a complaint, you have a limited amount of time to answer the complaint. If you fail to answer the complaint on time, a court may enter a default judgment against you. The business and commercial litigation attorneys at Gaston & Gaston APLC have experience appearing before judges in the local courts of San Diego County and can assist you in answering a complaint that may have been served against you or your business.

If you believe that you or your company have a cause of action as a plaintiff in a business or commercial litigation lawsuit, please call Gaston & Gaston APLC for a full evaluation of your claims. It is important to act quickly because the statute of limitations limits the amount time you have after you have discovered facts that give rise to a lawsuit. If you delay too long after discovering that you have a cause of action, your entire suit may be barred by the statue of limitations, and a court can refuse to hear any of the substantive facts related to your case. As a result, the merits of your case may never be decided by a court of law. Therefore, as soon as you become aware of your business or commercial dispute, you should contact an attorney for a full evaluation of prospective claims. This can include facts such as when one party merely threatens to breach a contract with another party (anticipatory breach), or when an actual breach occurs, whether the breach of the contract is a major or minor one. Additionally, you are wise to contact counsel when you first become aware of any instance of copyright, trademark or patent infringement. Do not wait for subsequent infringements to occur before seeking legal advice, as the clock begins to run on the stature of limitations as soon as you become aware of the first breach or infringement.

Act so that the Defendant cannot argue waiver

Even if your initial delay does not result in a complete bar to your claims by the statue of limitations, delay on your part creates for the defendant an important affirmative defense known as waiver. In essence, the defendant can argue that by delaying action against them when you know of the breach or infringement or any other act that gives rise to a cause of action, you essentially waived any claims against their bad acts because you permitted the bad acts to continue. The law does not permit you to “sit on your hands”. As soon as you know of facts, or even should have known of the facts because of the circumstances, the law expects and requires you to take action to preserve your rights. Act today! Call Gaston & Gaston APLC at 619-398-1882.

If you have been served with a lawsuit or need to file a complaint against another party to resolve your business lawsuit or other commercial dispute, call the experienced attorneys of the law firm of Gaston & Gaston APLC at 619-398-1882.

Business Formation

Whenever an individual wants to start a business, they must go through the business formation process. The first step of this process is to receive legal counseling as to which type of business entity is most suitable to the business goals of the individual. Receiving expert legal advice about the type of entity to form can help you avoid liability and unwanted tax consequences. Corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) have different legal rights and tax impacts. Therefore, it is necessary to understand these differences in order to choose the right entity type to form.

Every start up must seek corporate law advice in order to maximize its goals. Once you have arrived at the type of entity to form, you can proceed to have the formation documents prepared. If you need advice about the type of entity to form, call Gaston & Gaston APLC at 619-398-1882.

Business Financing and Venture Capital

Once a business is operational, it may have different needs such as financing (debt, equity or venture capital). It may have liability issues that need to be reviewed. As the company grows, it may enter into various agreements with other businesses such as joint ventures, contractor agreements or it may decide to merge with or acquire another company in a strategic relationship.

Commercial agreements such as debt financing, mortgages, leases, and employment agreements can all benefit from review by and the expert advice of your corporate attorney. If you need a commercial contract or agreement reviewed, call Fred Gaston, Esq. at 619-398-1882.

Purchase and Sale of Business

Each business goes through a business life cycle. It is common that one step of the business life cycle may be the purchase or sale of the business. Sometimes a business is purchased by or sold to an individual. Under other circumstances, the purchaser of the business may be another existing or newly formed business. This is called a merger or acquisition. A merger or acquisition has certain additional business requirements such as merging the staffs, processes, physical locations, and cultures of the two entities. There are also special tax and legal considerations that must be given expert attention. Mergers and acquisitions and strategic alliances can benefit from the assistance of an experienced attorney. Call Fred Gaston, Esq. today to get assistance with the purchase or sale of a business. You can reachGaston & Gaston APLC at 619-398-1882.

Franchise Law

Franchises are a popular business vehicle. While many franchises can be very profitable, franchises are highly regulated with legal issues under both state and federal laws. Therefore, it is advisable to consult an attorney before signing a franchise agreement, or before distributing a uniform franchise circular. There are many areas in which a franchiser may be subject to liability; therefore, it is wise to consult an attorney before taking steps that may negatively impact franchisees. Franchisees have many rights under the law and may need assistance from an attorney in helping to assert both the rights set out in the franchise agreement as well as rights that may be contained in state franchise laws. Franchiser compliance is another area where you may require assistance. If you are interested in purchasing a franchise, or perhaps in offering a franchise yourself, please contactGaston & Gaston APLC at 619-398-1882.

Gaston & Gaston's Service Area

Our service area includes Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Seal Beach, Tustin, Villa Park, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Temecula, Oceanside, San Diego, Del Mar, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Torrance, Pasadena, West Covina, Norwalk, Burbank, Beverly Hills, Cerritos, Claremont, Culver City, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Park, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Monterey Park, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, San Marino, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, West Hollywood and YOUR city!