Contract & civil disputes
A contract dispute arises when one party to an agreement says the other has not done what the agreement required. A general civil dispute is any other disagreement between persons that the civil courts can decide — over goods, services, money, property, reputation or a right claimed under a document.
The starting point is what the parties actually agreed, and where the agreement is in writing that is a question of construction: what the clause says, what it means read with the rest of the document, and what the parties did afterwards. Where nothing was written — still common in trade and in family businesses — the agreement is proved by conduct, correspondence, invoices, ledgers, part-payments and delivery records. Oral agreements are not unenforceable; they are simply harder to prove, and the proof is built from paper made at the time.
The disputes that come to the chambers include non-payment for goods supplied or work done; supply of the wrong or defective goods; termination said to be wrongful; agreements for sale of property that one side refuses to complete; disputes between partners or between a company and its suppliers, contractors or distributors; loans and advances between family members or businesses that were never documented properly; and disputes over guarantees, indemnities and security.
What can be asked for depends on the breach. A court may direct specific performance — that the party actually do what it promised, most often in agreements for the sale of immovable property; or award damages for the loss caused; or grant a declaration about the parties’ rights; or restrain a party by injunction from acting in breach. Where the agreement contains an arbitration clause, the dispute may have to go to arbitration instead, and the court’s role is then limited to the assistance and supervision the statute allows.
Advocates at the chambers handle contract and general civil disputes, including notices before suit, drafting and filing, interim applications, trial, and execution. Where a matter is arbitrable, the chambers advises on that and appears in the related court proceedings.
What this area covers
- Breach of written and oral agreements
- Specific performance of agreements, including agreements for sale
- Damages and compensation for loss caused by breach
- Declarations as to rights and obligations under a document
- Injunctions restraining a party from acting in breach
- Commercial disputes over goods, services, distribution and agency
- Disputes over guarantees, indemnities and security
- Legal notices and pre-litigation correspondence
The advocates who handle these matters
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Bimlesh Kumar Jain
In practice for over fifty years, in civil matters including property and matrimonial law.
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Aditya Kumar Jain
In practice for over ten years, with a focus on property law, working with a team of associates.