What to Do if Your Construction Company is Sued
An Orange County construction disputes attorney provides help in determining what your best course of action is if your construction company has been sued. Construction companies could be sued for many different reasons, from a lawsuit brought by individuals who claim they sustained injury on a construction site to a breach of contract or breach of warranty claim. Any lawsuit can affect your company’s finances and reputation so it is important to be proactive in responding to a claim made against your construction company. 
Brown & Charbonneau, LLPis here to help. Our legal team provides representation to construction businesses who need help navigating the court system.
Whether you have been sued or you want to use the courts to file a claim and assert your company’s rights, we can provide the assistance you need. Give us a call today to talk with an Orange County construction disputes attorney who can help you.
What to do If Your Construction Company is Sued
If your construction company has been sued, the best course of action may vary depending upon many different factors, including the grounds for the lawsuit. However, some of the key steps that your company should take after you discover you are being sued include the following:
- Determine if there is an arbitration agreement.
If you are being sued in connection with a construction contract or agreement, there is a good chance that the contract contained an arbitration clause requiring that claims be resolved in arbitration. Arbitration clauses are very common in construction contracts and can protect your construction company from having to deal with court action.
If there is an arbitration agreement in place, any dispute that has arisen will likely need to be resolved in arbitration. Arbitration clauses have been widely held to be enforceable in a broad array of situations, so even if someone attempts to sue your construction company in contravention of the arbitration agreement, you can take action to ensure that arbitration is the forum used to resolve the dispute.
- Identify any counterclaims
If someone has brought a claim against your company, you have the option to also raise any counterclaims that you believe are valid. For example, if your construction company is being sued for allegedly failing to complete a project on time or in accordance with specifications and if the developer who is suing you owes you money and is delinquent on payments, you could raise the failure to pay as a counterclaim.
- Get appropriate legal help
Hiring an experienced attorney is important as soon as your construction company is sued. You have deadlines by which you must respond when you are provided with notice of the court action. If you miss the deadlines, your ability to proceed in the most effective way in response to claims could be adversely impacted.
An experienced attorney will work with you to ensure you respond to accusations within the deadline and to ensure that you develop the right strategic response to allegations. You may have the option to raise doubts about the claims against you so as to avoid being found to have failed to fulfill a legal obligation or duty. You may also be able to raise affirmative defenses, which would mean providing justification for why you acted the way you did.
You need to be strategic about deciding which approach is best for responding to accusations against your construction company. An Orange County construction disputes attorney can analyze the evidence that the opposing party has to present in making their case and can help you to gather evidence of your own.
Getting Help from an Orange County Construction Disputes Attorney
A lawsuit brought against your construction company can be damaging in many ways. You need to take smart steps to protect your business and that means reaching out to an experienced attorney who you can trust.
Brown & Charbonneau, LLP has extensive experience providing representation to construction companies who are involved in legal disputes that have come before the court or that will be decided in arbitration. We know the ins-and-outs of the laws governing construction contracts and other aspects of construction law and we can put our experience to work to help your company.
To find out more about how Brown & Charbonneau, LLP can help you, give us a call at (866)237-8129 or contact us online today to talk with an Orange County construction disputes attorney at our firm.