Business owners often struggle with filing a lawsuit against another company or individual.
How do you decide if you should file a lawsuit and if you do, should you sue as an individual or company?
Filing a lawsuit against another company or an individual can be a complicated situation and it is important for business owners to consider all of their options before filing a lawsuit. When filing a lawsuit, you need to know what jurisdiction to file as well as make sure your claims in the lawsuit will not be thrown out by the judge hearing the case.
Business owners thinking about filing a lawsuit should consult a business law attorney to discuss what next steps to take as well as address the legal issues that will need to be considered before filing the lawsuit. However, initially, there are a few factors business owners will want to consider when thinking about filing a lawsuit:
- Who was injured or affected? if an injury occurred due to another person's neglect or misconduct, it may be better to file a lawsuit as an individual. However, if property was damaged, then it may be better to file as a company.
- Entity: how you file a lawsuit depends on your company and you have sole proprietorship. If your business is a corporation or LLC, the business is separated from you and you can file as an individual or as a company depending on the situation.
- Relationship with party being sued: if you have a business or personal relationship with who you are suing, that may complicate things but it can also help determine if you should file as an individual or as a business.
Lawsuits can be filed by both you as the individual and your business but this may be more costly and more complicated. There are pros and cons in filing lawsuits as an individual and as a business so it is best to work with a business law attorney to determine what the best option is depending on the specific case.
Source: FindLaw, "Sue as a Company, as Individual, or Both?" Maryam K. Ansari, March 25, 2013
