Proactive Resolution of Business and Commercial Disputes
The Michigan Legislature established business courts to promote the efficient resolution of business and commercial disputes.
Michigan business courts favor mediation as a proactive means to resolve matters early, which reduces costs and increases control and certainty if the parties can reach an agreement prior to trial.
Business courts have jurisdiction over business or commercial disputes, which generally include actions in which:
All of the parties are business enterprises;
One or more of the parties is a business enterprise and the other parties are its or their present or former owners, managers, shareholders, members of a limited liability company or a similar business organization, directors, officers, agents, employees, suppliers, guarantors of a commercial loan, or competitors, and the claims arise out of those relationships; and
One of the parties is a nonprofit organization, and the claims arise out of that party’s organizational structure, governance, or finances.
Business court jurisdiction also includes actions involving, or arising out of:
The sale, merger, purchase, combination, dissolution, liquidation, organizational structure, governance, or finances of a business enterprise.
Information technology, software, or website development, maintenance, or hosting.
Those involving the internal organization of business entities and the rights or obligations of shareholders, partners, members, owners, officers, directors, or managers.
Contractual agreements or other business dealings, including licensing, trade secret, intellectual property, antitrust, securities, noncompete, nonsolicitation, and confidentiality agreements if all available administrative remedies are completely exhausted, including, but not limited to, alternative dispute resolution processes prescribed in the agreements.
Commercial transactions, including commercial bank transactions.
Business or commercial insurance policies.
Commercial real property.
Many business and commercial disputes can be resolved without litigation. If litigation has commenced, most lawsuits can be resolved through mediation prior to trial.
As a business and real estate lawyer with large-firm litigation experience, a former Judicial Extern in the United States District Court of the Western District of Michigan, and a former clerk for a State Court Judge, Mr. Stawski is uniquely qualified to mediate business law, commercial law, construction law, and real estate matters throughout Western Michigan and Northern Michigan.
Mr. Stawski is a court-approved mediator for the Grand Traverse Circuit Court, the Kent County Circuit Court, and the Wexford County Circuit Court.
For more information about civil court mediation or representation for business law, commercial law, construction law, and real estate law matters, send an e-mail to: info@stawskilawoffice.com.
