FAQs

Civil litigation is a process for resolving a legal dispute between two or more parties that seek money damages or specific performance through negotiation or through the courts rather than seeking criminal sanctions. Mehdian Law, APC is experience in handling both business and private clients in disputes involving breach of contract negligence claims including but not limited to negligence matters, personal injury matter.

Each breach of contract case is unique. If the company’s breach is a material breach, you must inform the company of its breach in writing. You must do so in writing to be able to prove later that 1(a) they were in breach of the contract first; (b) you had informed them of their breach; (c) despite giving them a reasonable opportunity to cure their breach, they failed to do so., causing you to avoid performing under the contract. If you are ever in a situation where the national company is not performing under the terms of the contract, you must contact an attorney to make sure your rights are preserved.

You need to follow up in writing (check your contract to determine if it provides for any other kind of communication and or notice regarding defective service) and preserve all evidence reflecting their breach of the contract as you would be able to use that evidence to prove that your (subsequent) breach of the contract was due to defendant’s failure to perform what they had promised.

The short answer is that it depends. Fees for civil litigation matters vary depending on the complexity of the case, the type of dispute, the amount of whether a case is settled short of a trial.

Most civil litigation lawsuits are filed to recover money. You could be seeking money as a reimbursement in a breach of contract case, money lost due to a legal malpractice case, or compensation in a personal injury case. Besides money, you could also seek the court to order a person to do something or refrain from doing something. If you are unsure, you must contact an attorney to find out what remedies are available to you in your case.

It is impossible to determine when a case would be settled at the early stages of a personal injury claim. It is important to keep in mind that settling your case while you have pending injuries could hurt you in the long run as the cost of future medical care is not always easy to predict.

The answer to this question is almost always yes! Mediation gives the parties another opportunity to settle the case prior to having the courts decide the matter. Mediation is essentially a negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party, who informs all parties of the value of their claims and the strengths and weaknesses of their claims and/or defenses. Moreover, mediation usually forces the parties to closely analyze and evaluate their claim, thereby pushing them to settle the case short of a trial. Unless a party has made it clear that they are unwilling to settle their claim short of a trial, mediation could be a very helpful tool in settling cases without the need of expending valuable resources to obtain just results. Please take note that the information exchanged at mediation is kept confidential.

In most personal injury cases, your attorney charges a percentage or portion of the final settlement amount or judgment awarded in court resulting from your injury. In California, the law requires that you and your attorney sign a written contract that specifies the percentage of fees charges. Keep in mind that such percentage is not a fixed amount, and your retainer agreement must state so. Most personal injury attorneys also waive any cost associated with your representation unless the attorney recovers.

It depends on your contract with your attorney. Some lawyers handle the property damage portion of the claim at no charge; some have a separate retainer agreement for the property damage portion of the case; some do not take on the responsibility of handling the property damage portion of your claim. Mehdian Law, APC handles the property damage portion of its clients’ claims at no charge to make sure its clients get what they deserve.

It depends on the terms of your health insurance contract. You must definitely contact your health insurance and inform them of the incident. If they seek reimbursement, you will receive what’s called a subrogation letter via mail, informing you of their lien on your claim.

No always! Your property damage does not always show the extent of your injuries; your vehicle being considered a total loss helps support your personal injury claim, but if the extent of your injuries are small, you could not expect a very large settlement offer form defendant’s insurance company. The extent of your injuries is the most important piece of the puzzle!

You should make sure to preserve all evidence, and document the same. For instance, you should take photos at the scene of the accident, and also document you injuries by taking photos of your injured body parts including any swelling, bruises, condition of stitches and your healing as time goes on.

The statute limitations is the time period within which a lawsuit must be commenced or will be time barred, meaning you are forever barred from filing a lawsuit for such causes of action. The statute of limitation varies depending on the cause of action and the state one is in and/or where the cause of action arises and/or the lawsuit is filed. You must contact an attorney to learn about such statute of limitations, and make sure proper action is taken to preserve your rights.

The main difference between arbitration and mediation is that a mediator aids the parties in trying to reach a settlement acceptable to both sides, while in a binding arbitration, an arbitrator will issue a binding decision, which is usually non-appealable except based on certain limited grounds. Moreover, arbitration matters could be submitted to a single arbitrator or a panel of 2-3 arbitrators, when mediation matters are usually submitted to a single mediator.