How to sue a business if you are a business?

A business in Ohio is a legal entity and can sue or be sued. The opposing party in the lawsuit may be another business, an individual, or a governmental entity. Most types of Ohio businesses, including corporations, LLCs, and partnerships, may be sued in their own name.

A lawsuit against a sole proprietorship is effectively a suit against the proprietor, who must be the named defendant (usually with a “d/b/a Name of Business” following). But, what if sue a business if you are a business? Let’s find out.

How to sue a business if you are a business

How to File a Lawsuit Against a Company?

You may want to sue a company for multiple reasons, whether it is an injury, breach of contract, or just another wrongdoing. Some persons entitled to file lawsuits against businesses include suppliers, customers, or shareholders who suffered harm due to the company’s action or inaction.

However, before you start suing a business, you should be working with an attorney to gather evidence against it. Common sources of evidence include photos, emails, contracts, medical records, invoices, receipts, and correspondence with the business.

In addition, write down all the details you can remember concerning the wrongdoing, which will be part of the evidence you’ll share with your attorney. Once you’ve obtained evidence and created a summary of the legal action, you can file a formal complaint against the company in a local court.

Filing a complaint involves drafting a document that states the parties involved in the complaints and the applicable reasons for taking legal action. You can kickstart the lawsuit in other jurisdictions by sending a demand letter. A demand letter details the wrongdoing and the kind of compensation you seek from the case. Sometimes, a business will settle the matter based on the demand letter with no need for a lawsuit.

Upon receipt of the complaint, some companies may opt to settle with you out of court, which is an excellent alternative if you don’t want to worry about the fees related to the court process or hiring an attorney.

To proceed with a civil lawsuit against a business, you may need to register through a local court and schedule a court date. However, you must be prepared to prove the claim because any company may be willing to go to any lengths to protect its reputation.

Most importantly, you should evaluate whether you have a valid case. Not all wrongdoings have a legal remedy. Your complaint against the business must be specific. You should also demonstrate that the company had a duty of care to you and their breach of care contributed to the injury.

Common Business v. Business Lawsuits

One of the most common types of lawsuits between businesses involves a breach of contract. One common type of business-to-business breach of contract claim is a debt collection lawsuit. The statute of limitations for most contract-based debts in Ohio is six years, regardless of whether the parties are businesses or individuals. However, businesses are not entitled to the same debt collection protections as consumers.

Some examples of a breach of contract action one business might file against another include:

A claim for damages based on failure to perform a contract, such as failure of a supplier to deliver goods to a retailer or supplies to a construction company
A suit for inadequate performance on a contract, such as constructing a building in a manner that wasn’t up to local building codes or with lower-quality materials than agreed to in the contract
Breach of a lease agreement, such as rental of retail space
Breach of an insurance contract, is when an insurance carrier refuses to pay for losses covered under the policy or to cover a liability of the business that should be covered under its policy

Other reasons one business might sue another include:

Infringement of intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, copyrights, or patent rights
Damage to the business’s property, such as when a construction company working on neighboring property does damage to the business’s land or building, or a careless delivery driver damages the company’s loading dock
Defamation, such as when a newspaper or magazine makes damaging false statements about a business, or a competitor uses false claims about a business to gain a competitive advantage
Tortious interference with business relationships, which often goes hand in hand with defamation–for instance, when a representative of one business calls clients of another and makes false statements about that business in order to divert clients to its own roster
Nuisance, such as a neighboring business making improvements that cause the business’s property to flood, or giving off noxious fumes that present a hazard to employees and customers of the business

Of course, this isn’t a comprehensive list of lawsuits one business might file against another. While there are some exceptions and limitations, one business can sue another for most of the same reasons an individual could, along with a few claims that are specific to businesses.

What Kind of Lawsuits Can Be Against Companies?

Product Liability

Thousands of consumers are harmed by defective or dangerous products each year. A plaintiff in a product liability case usually files a complaint against a manufacturer or retailer for selling hazardous or faulty products.

In addition, all the parties in a distribution chain may be liable in a product liability lawsuit. Manufacturers, retailers, and distributors are enlisted in product liability lawsuits because they must sell and market products that meet ordinary consumer expectations.

There are three types of defects that might cause injury and give rise to a product liability lawsuit:

Design defects
Manufacturing defects
Marketing defects

Here are the damages you can receive in a product liability case.

You’re entitled to compensation if you win a product liability case. An attorney can settle the case by filing a claim against the defendant’s insurer. Alternatively, they can obtain damages through trial.

Either way, you can obtain the following damages:

Reimbursement of medical expenses
Compensation for future medical expenses
Property damage
Lost income
Pain and suffering
Permanent disfigurement

An experienced attorney can provide information on the type of damage you may be entitled to and the potential value of your case. They can also prove to a jury that you sustained injuries or losses as a result of a defective product.

Premises liability

Property owners must maintain a safe environment so that people who come into the property don’t sustain injuries. This duty of care is called ‘premises liability,’ which holds property owners responsible for injuries to residents within the premises.

In a retail store, a store owner or manager must provide a safe environment for customers and take reasonable steps to prevent injuries. If they fail to do so, they may be liable for injury-related losses.

A slip-and-fall accident is a common cause of premises liability lawsuits. These accidents occur due to spilled liquids, wet and slippery floors, or cluttered walkways.

An injured victim must demonstrate the following elements to win a premises liability lawsuit against a retail store:

Duty of care: The injured victim must demonstrate the store owner had a duty of care to provide a safe shopping environment.
Breach of duty: The injured victim must demonstrate that the store owner breached the duty of care by failing to deal with a known hazard or creating unsafe conditions.
Causation: The injured victim should demonstrate that the store owner’s negligence is the direct cause of the injury.
Damages: The plaintiff must have suffered actual damages such as medical expenses, lost income, or pain and suffering as a result of the injury.

Can a Business Sue Another Business in Small Claims Court?

In theory, one Ohio business can sue another in small claims court. If your business is small, that may seem like an attractive option, since it’s a streamlined, less complicated process than a regular civil court case. But, there are some important limitations that mean small claims court is often not the right answer for a business filing a lawsuit.

Those limitations are:

The maximum amount that can be awarded in a small claims case in Ohio is $6,000, which will be insufficient to address many business disputes
A small claims court can only award money damages–it cannot enter an injunction, order a party to perform on a contract, or otherwise resolve non-monetary claims
Some types of business claims fall outside the jurisdiction of a small claims court, even if the amount in dispute is less than $6,000
Limitations on what an officer or employee of a business can do in small claims court will likely necessitate hiring an attorney to represent the company, eliminating some of the incentive to use the small claims process

When You Sue it’s Against the Owner or the Company?

In most cases, injured parties file lawsuits against businesses. However, certain circumstances allow a plaintiff to file a lawsuit against a business’s owner or employee.

The question of the defendant of a lawsuit mostly applies when a bodily harm case is involved.

Scenario 1

Suppose a pedestrian is crossing a street only for a speeding delivery truck to hit them, causing severe fractured bones. In that case, the company and the driver are both at fault and could be a party to a civil lawsuit.

Scenario 2

Suppose an electrician falls and sustains an injury after a crane malfunctions while repairing street lights on a company’s premises. In that case, the company would be liable for injury-related losses for failing to provide a safe working environment.

You can sue someone who owns a business if it is not a limited liability company (LLC) but a sole proprietorship. In a sole proprietorship, a business owner has the same legal standing as the establishment.

However, an LLC is a separate legal entity from its owner and is treated differently during lawsuits.

What Can a Business Recover in a Lawsuit Against Another Business?

Money damages are the most common award in Ohio civil litigation, including business versus business lawsuits. Depending on the type of lawsuit and the specifics, the business may recover damages such as:

Sums due to it under a contract that has been breached
Compensation is necessary to make it whole after damage to the property
Compensation for unauthorized use of its trademark or copyrighted or patented material
Damages for harm to its reputation and lost revenues due to defamation
Depending on the terms of the contract lost revenues due to another company’s failure to perform

In some circumstances, a court may also order specific performance on an Ohio contract. This is typically limited to situations in which the goods involved cannot reasonably be replaced. Punitive damages may also be awarded in a business lawsuit, under the same conditions as they might be appropriate in a case involving individuals. However, if the defendant business is a “small employer,” punitive damages are capped at the lesser of twice compensatory damages or 10% of the business’s net worth, and may not exceed $350,000.

Business Litigation Can Be Complex

As you can see, there are a wide range of reasons that one Ohio business might bring a lawsuit against another. Some seem straightforward, such as a debt collection lawsuit against a company that failed to pay a supplier’s invoice. Others, like nuisance claims and trade defamation, may be much more complicated.

In addition, a business doesn’t have the same options an individual might bring to a lawsuit on its own. That’s because an individual has a right to represent themselves in court, meaning that they can engage in activities such as questioning witnesses on their own behalf. But, an employee or officer of a business doesn’t have the same option, since they would be representing another entity (the business) rather than themselves. So, any business considering filing a lawsuit against another business or facing a lawsuit should speak with an experienced business litigation attorney right away.

What Can a Lawyer Do for You?

If a business action or inaction has caused you harm, you may want the help of an attorney in filing the lawsuit. First, an experienced attorney can evaluate the circumstances of the incident and advise you if it’s worth filing a lawsuit.

Most importantly, an attorney from Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz will be with you at every step of the lawsuit. If the defendant proposes an out-of-court settlement, your attorney can evaluate the offers and, if necessary, negotiate for a fair settlement value. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Before establishing Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz L.P.A., Doug Mann, a top Ohio Injury Attorney served as a bodily injury claims adjuster at a major insurance firm. With over 40+ years of experience, Doug’s background has proven invaluable in securing maximum cash settlements for his clients swiftly. Since leaving the insurance industry, Doug has devoted his entire legal career to assisting injured clients during their times of greatest need.