Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Breach of Contract

First of all you must ANSWER the SUMMONS & COMPLAINT. Then hopefully you may come to an acceptable settlement. Contact me directly.

Re: Breach of Contract

If by protecting yourselves you mean minimizing the overall dollar cost of the dispute to you, I would say avoiding litigation (if possible) is the best strategy. At this point, your opportunities to negotiate with the creditor seem limited, but this is still the first thing I'd recommend. Figure out how much you can pay and when, and work out a plan.

"Being sued" can mean different things. Have you been threatened with suit, or have you been served with a summons and complaint?

If the latter, you need to decide whether to defend or not. Ordinarily, a defendant who is served with a lawsuit will want to file and serve an answer within 30 days; this is necessary to put the allegations of the complaint "at issue" and force the matter to trial (or settlement).

If you have no real defenses, you might want to consider defaulting to avoid legal expenses. In rare instances this may be the best strategy, but ONLY if there are no real defenses and you do not object to entry of a default judgment for the entire amount demanded by the complaint.

Start by comparing the allegations of the complaint with the facts as you see them, especially the specific language of the contract. You should do this to see whether you have any defenses. Not having the money to meet your obligations is not a defense. Look to see if there is an attorney-fee clause or an arbitration clause - either of these could affect your strategy.

You don't say whether the party being sued is a corporation or other entity, or a group of individuals. Keep in mind that a corporation cannot represent itself in superior court - it must be represented by an attorney.

Re: Breach of Contract

Negotiate a settlement or payment plan, defend the case, or go bankrupt if appropriate, those are your options. I'll be happy to help you with the first two. You'll need an attorney, since they already made it clear they're not willing to continue working directly with you. They filed, right? I'd suggest we try to settle, it would be cheaper than paying substantial attorney fees to simply fight the case in order to delay and buy time. Litigate only as last resort. Feel free to contact me if interested.