How To Handle a Demand Letter Sent to You or Your Business
So you’re sitting in or at your business, doing your own thing and seemingly out of anybody’s way. And then it comes: a demand letter from an attorney shows up in the mail or by email. It is long, has a lot of threats, and plenty of laws which you may not understand. What do you do?
Not Always Accurate
The first thing to remember about demand letters, especially those sent by attorneys, is that they are not neutral documents. They are slanted and biased towards their client and usually based on the attorney’s client’s version of what happened—as such, you shouldn’t believe everything that is said in the demand letter.
Get Counsel to Look it Over
The first thing you’ll want to do is have an attorney look the letter over, tell the attorney what happened, and get a fair and neutral evaluation of whether the demand letter has merit, or whether it is simply puffery—that is, a version of the facts that is not legal, or which isn’t supported by the evidence.
Time Limits and Responses
Many demand letters will have a time limit to respond. If you do not respond, some attorneys will do nothing, even after the deadline. But some will file a lawsuit against you on the day of the deadline, so it is best to act fast.
If you need more time, you can send a response to the other side, asking for however many more days you may need to review the letter, or to get an attorney. Most attorneys will grant reasonable extensions.
How to Respond
If you believe that the demand has some merit (which you would do after conferring with your attorney), you can discuss the economics of making a counteroffer to resolve the matter—that is, whether it would be more expensive to litigate and try the case, as opposed to just resolving it.
Don’t worry, anything you say during this point can never be admissible in trial, should the matter go to court.
If you deny what is in the demand letter, you, or your attorney, will send a stern response, with your version of the facts or the law, and explaining that you are willing, ready and able to fight the claims in the demand. Often when the other attorney sees your side of the facts, and not just his or her own clients’ version, it may make the attorney rethink the idea of going to court.
Preserving Evidence
When you get a demand letter, one thing you don’t want to do is erase or destroy evidence—in fact, you have a duty to protect and preserve any evidence that may be relevant to the claim. You may have to instruct other employees to find, and preserve, electronic data that may be routinely erased or altered. Often, the demand letter will list the information that they expect you to preserve.
Call the West Palm Beach business litigation lawyers at Pike & Lustig today for help with your commercial and employment litigation case if you are sent a demand letter, and need guidance on how to handle it.
