You Received a Demand Letter-Now What Do You Do?
Often, before someone just files a lawsuit, they will let you know, and give you the chance to resolve that suit, before anything is filed in court. Or, because of language in the law, or language in a contract, they may be legally obligated to send you notice that they intend to file a lawsuit against you.
Either way, the result is the same: you will get a demand letter, usually in the mail, but it could be electronically as well. What do you do with the demand letter? What’s the best way to handle it?
A Slanted Version of Fact
The letter likely will come from an attorney, and so it may seem scary or intimidating. While it’s not something to ignore or take lightly, a demand letter is only the other side’s version of things. In fact, demand letters are often sent to intimidate the other side, and as such, shouldn’t be considered a completely neutral or even truthful document—it is a document wholly slanted to the other side’s version of the law, facts or the case.
The first thing your attorney will do when he or she gets the letter, is speak to you about what is alleged in the letter, to see how much truth there is to it. In some cases, the demand is, genuinely, an attempt to work things out in the absence of litigation.
Worth Defending?
From a business standpoint, you will need to consider whether the time and cost of defending the suit is worth it.
For demands that are ridiculous, meritless, or which demand remedies or amounts that are completely out of proportion, the answer may be yes, it is worth allowing the other side to take the matter to court, and defending the case.
But if you do feel there may be some room for resolution, or if there is some merit to what the other side is alleging in the demand letter, your attorney will contact the other side, to see if something cannot be worked out.
Don’t Ignore the Letter
What you don’t want to do is ignore time limits to respond in any demand letter. Most of the time, time limits set forth in demand letters aren’t legal deadlines—they’re deadlines to respond to the letter set by the other side, often arbitrarily. If you need more time to respond, most of the time, reasonable extensions can be had if you ask for them.
If you just ignore the letter, two things may happen.
The whole thing may go away completely. But that’s a big risk, because the other thing that can happen if you ignore the letter, is that the other side will just file the lawsuit—now you’re in contested commercial litigation, and while you can still try to resolve the case, things have now gotten more contentious and expensive.
Call our Fort Lauderdale business lawyers at Sweeney Law P.A. at 954-440-3993 for help today for help with your demand letter, or responding to any that are sent to you.
