Practice
Contract and payment disputes
Unpaid invoices, broken supply deals, services that weren’t delivered, and contracts each side reads its own way.
Most contract lawsuits start with a letter and a deadline. The first job is to read the contract itself, then the emails and invoices around it, and work out what the agreement actually required of each side.
Merritt represents the business that is owed money and the business being asked to pay it. Often the answer is a demand letter or a negotiated payment plan; when it isn’t, she files suit or defends one in state or federal court, or in arbitration if the contract calls for it.
Which side
Companies and owners who are owed money
Companies and owners being sued for it
Buyers and sellers in a deal that didn’t close
Disputes she takes on
Unpaid invoices and accounts
Collecting what a customer owes, or answering a claim for money you dispute.
Supply and vendor agreements
Late deliveries, short shipments and goods that weren’t what was ordered.
Service contracts
Work that was paid for and not done, or done and not paid for.
Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses
Enforcing them for a business, or defending a former employee or buyer.
Sale-of-business disputes
Earn-outs, holdbacks and promises made about the business that was sold.
Guaranties and personal liability
When an owner signed personally and the lender or landlord comes to collect.
Questions
What people ask about contract disputes
I got a demand letter. Do I have to answer it?
A letter isn’t a lawsuit, and you usually don’t have to answer it. But it often starts a clock, and what you say back can be used later. Bring it to a first meeting before you reply.
The contract says disputes go to arbitration. What does that mean?
A private arbitrator, not a judge or jury, hears the case and decides it. It is usually faster and private, with fewer chances to appeal. Some clauses can be challenged; most hold.
Can I get my legal fees back if I win?
Only if the contract or a law says so. Many contracts have a fee clause; many don’t. It’s one of the first things Merritt checks.
How long does a contract case take?
A letter can settle things in weeks. A case filed in court commonly takes a year or more to reach trial, and most settle somewhere along the way.
Owed money, or asked to pay it?
Bring the contract and the invoices to a first meeting, and you’ll hear what each side can prove.