Litigation
Klarfeld Law Offices represent and manage litigation in court for individual clients and corporations alike.
Litigation can be defined as a legal action taken in court to seek a remedy for a wrong suffered or that one party of the litigation believes he or she has suffered at the expense of another party or parties in the action.
In the course of normal business and personal financial affairs, disputes arise, often resulting in litigation. Klarfeld Law Offices will assist in resolving disputes without litigation. However, should the need arise we are prepared to vigorously litigate civil and or administrative claims when necessary.
If a lawsuit is brought against a client, we have the training, the experience and the ability to provide an aggressive defense.
Often a client will come to an Attorney and show the Attorney papers received from the court or a Complainant stating that the client must reply to a complaint within a certain amount of time. Many times the reply for this litigation is overdue or imminently due for any number of reasons: The client was angry and did not feel obliged to dignify the complaint with a reply; the client panicked and stuffed the complaint in a drawer – not wishing to deal with the issue; the client intended to deal with the matter personally and later felt overwhelmed by the work involved; the client simply did not know what to do, the client did not understand what the litigation of the case would entail, etc.
It is important to note that where litigation is involved, not responding to a complaint in a timely manner may cause severe, if not irreparable, damage. A Respondent in litigation who does not address the complaints in a timely manner is in danger of receiving an ex-parte judgment against him. Even if the ex-parte judgment is later reversed it will be at great expense to the Respondent who will have to further complicated the litigation by requesting that the case be reopened, after wasting the Court’s and the Complainant’s time. The Respondent in such instance will probably be required to pay courts fines and/or Complainant’s expenses incurred by the additional litigation burden suffered by having to file for a judgment and then respond to a request to reopen, etc.
If a Client seeks an Attorney’s assistance prior to the date mandated for Response to a Claim or a Court Hearing – it is possible that the Attorney may be able to speak with Opposing Counsel in due time to avoid unnecessary litigation and resolve a conflict by negotiation or mediation. This may prove far less costly to all concerned and may result in smoothing the way for future interaction between the parties, which might otherwise be impossible after a long and bitter litigation.
In other instances, a Client will come to an Attorney with a Complaint against another entity (personal, corporate or administrative), seeking a remedy whether it be an injunction or damages. The Client should be aware that many factors must be considered when filing a Complaint with the court, including, among other things: Whether there has been or will be actual damages, whether the complaint is frivolous, whether the complaint is being lodged against the appropriate Respondent , whether the Complainant has filed in a timely manner (i.e. is it within the Statute of Limitations or, has the Complainant rested on his laurels and only remembered his complaint long after the Respondent has moved on and can no longer address the complaints lodged against him), whether the Complainant comes to the Court with “clean hands”, etc.
Filing a Complaint in Court is serious business. First of all, opposing party will have his or her own version of the events leading up to the Complaint. No one can ever predict with accuracy what will be the exact outcome of a court case – it might backfire on the Complainant, the Complainant might find himself suddenly embroiled in a Cross-Complaint, etc. For these reasons and others, it is important that a Client seek legal assistance from an attorney experienced in the field of litigation before embarking on a journey seeking remedy and justice when wronged.
See also Tort Actions Against the Administration