Commercial Law

Commercial law is area that covers a broad spectrum of fields related to the transaction of commerce. Many of these areas are governed by specific statutes or codes that orchestrate the manner in which people and businesses interact.

When businesses or companies are involved in a legal dispute, this is known as commercial litigation.  These issues are normally very specialized and more complex, both factually and legally.

We can help businesses and individuals deal with a wide range of commercial situations.  These issues may entail the following:

• Fraud and Misrepresentation
• Insurance Coverage
• Intellectual Property and Patent Infringement
• LLC Member or Partnership Disputes
• Restrictive Covenants
• Securities Litigation
• Shareholder and Derivative Actions
• Trade Secret and Unfair Competition

This is not an exhaustive list; however, it highlights some of the common forms of civil litigation.

The Rutala Law Group focuses on litigating many Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Business Torts, Construction, LLC Membership Disputes, Restrictive covenants, and Shareholder and Derivative Actions

Breach of Contract

Almost every transaction that people enter into constitutes a contract. Whether it is an oral agreement or a written document, contracts a vehicle for enforcing a promised exchange between to parties under the law. Every day, people enter into contracts without ever knowing it, e.g. purchasing food at your local grocery store. Whether it is a long, written formal contract or a simple over-the-barrel purchase in a store, each one of these transactions creates a contractual relationship.

Contract law can be broken down into two areas 1) Drafting or Transaction and 2) Enforcement or Breach. Breach of Contract is a specific claim where a party is asking a court to enforce the promises that another party made pursuant to a valid contract. This area touches a vast array of other areas law, including but not limited to, construction, employment, insurance, commercial transactions, consumer transactions, domestic relations, and real estate. The Rutala Law Group is ready and able to assist you with a wide variety of contractual disputes.

Business Disputes

The formation of a business with a group of partners is one of the most exciting an exhilarating experience. However, the formation of a business entity with multiple parties is very similar to a marriage. In the beginning everything is fine; however, like many marriages, sometimes there is a divorce. What happens when a partner’s in a business begin to disagree? What can you do if you are a minority holder and are being deprived of profits from the business? What happens if a party in control of a business abuses their authority to the detriment of the company or, even, steals from the business?

These are all issues under the umbrella of a business dispute, and there are specific claims and strategies for dealing with these issues. These issues may be in the form of a shareholder and derivative action, a demand for information and records, or even an action to dissolve an entity. Many of these claims involve a breach of a fiduciary duty as partners in a business, managers of a company, or the directors of a corporation all owe the company and its stakeholders a fiduciary duty. The Rutala Law Group has the knowledge and experience to help bring these issues to a resolution.

Commercial Transactions

When a business sells goods to a consumer or to another merchant, ships products pursuant to a contract, or extends credit to a buyer secured by moveable property, they are conducting a commercial transaction. Although the litigation of issues arising in relation to these areas is very similar to general contract litigation, these commercial transactions are governed by the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code and the New Jersey Uniform Commercial Code for transactions conducted in their respective jurisdictions.

The Rutala Law Group has the ability to guide its clients through these legal codes prior to an issue arising; however, if there is an issue that arises, the Rutala Law Group is prepared it zealously litigate on behalf of its clients.

Construction Law

Construction Law falls under the umbrella of Commercial Law in that many of issues that arise are in relation to disputes between to businesses regarding the construction or development of real estate. Many of these litigations are founded squarely in Contract Law as the relationships between owner and contractor, contractor and subcontractor, or contractor and vendor are all governed by contracts.

However, many of these disputes are also subject to particular statutory provisions that govern and set specific procedures regarding the formation and litigation of these agreements. Pennsylvania and New Jersey have both enacted Prompt Payment Acts that govern over the issue of nonpayment under a contract and provide additional remedies for contractors who have not received payment or set defenses in mattes where it is alleged the contractor failed to perform.

Furthermore, both states have enacted Little Miller statutes that govern contracts in public construction projects and acts that govern the filing of Mechanics Liens.

Although many of the issues that arise are contractual in nature, Construction law touches additional areas of law. One such area is zoning and permitting.

Those involved in the construction industry traditionally need governmental approval for their work. This approval may be in the form of a special exception or a variance in order to build a property to a certain specification or to utilize it for a particular purpose. An attorney must understand the proper governmental body that governs over these requests and work with the client to prepare the appropriate documentation to present it to that administrative body. The preparation and presentation of the required information is vital to achieving the goals of the client.

Construction law has a component of employment law. It is not surprising that construction involves a great deal of manual labor that requires large numbers of employed persons to accomplish. Like any employer, a construction firm must be aware of the state and federal employment laws that can affect its business. This includes state and federal wage and labor laws and civil rights acts.

More importantly, given the nature of the business what happens when an employee gets hurt on the job. These incidents give rise to worker’s compensation claims. Thus, many firms are required to provide workers compensation insurance. At the Rutala Law Group can assist a construction firm in navigating the Worker’s Compensation Statutes requirements in procuring insurance and notifying employees.

Tort law is also highly relevant to a Construction firm. Construction entails a higher degree of risk of harm to others as the industry employs heavy equipment and dangerous instruments. The fact is—Accidents Happen. When a person is hurt in relation to a construction job, the firms involved on that job need to know how to respond. Unfortunately, these claims can place a lot of strain on a company; however, having the proper guidance from an attorney before an accident happens can mitigate this strain.

Consumer Protection

As the name indicates, consumer protection law is an area of legal practice aimed at laws and regulations imposed to safeguard the buyers of goods and services against unfair trade practices in the marketplace. This area of law is almost completely driven by statute and code law. These laws regulate how merchants may sell and market to consumers and contain an array of requirements that many merchants must abide or potentially face severe penalties in from both civil suit of the consumer or enforcement by the Attorney Generals Offices.

Car dealerships and home improvement contractors are a couple of the industries that are specifically regulated under these state consumer protection acts. However, all merchants who offer goods for home and personal use may be subject to these statutes.