Many companies in Oklahoma and elsewhere do a wonderful job and help others. This is especially true of smaller companies that are the backbone of the American economy. They are not the selfish ones that pay their workers badly while supplying their CEOs with millions or billions of dollars in compensation. Wonderful companies pay taxes and do not receive corporate welfare, sucking off the government teat. When companies, large or small, screw up and do something bad, plaintiffs often hire a law firm to help file a civil lawsuit in court to help solve the legal issues.
Determining Whether Civil Liability Exists & the Amount of Damages:
Before anyone should think about filing a lawsuit against a corporation, the petitioner must first decide whether the company was at fault. If so, what amount of financial compensation will the initiating party seek? These are questions that the best civil attorneys in Oklahoma like Jeff Black of Bonham & Howard can help provide answers to. So, one of the first and most important steps in the legal process of filing a civil suit against a corporation is to seek legal advice on whether liability exists, and if so, the amount of damages shall the petitioner need to seek.
Deciding Which Jurisdiction Applies:
Before initiating a civil lawsuit, litigants must consider which jurisdiction to file the legal action in. Before doing so, there are three key components of the long arm statute to consider. Our private investigation agency’s civil lawyers note that these are as follows:
- Where Does the Plaintiff Live?
- Where Does the Defendant Live?
- Where Did the Damage Occur?
If the petitioner can determine that the damage occurred in the city or county where she/he/they live(s), then the jurisdiction will be there. However, if the damage occurred where the defendant lived, then it will be there. Courts find that jurisdiction exists in localities where at least two of the above are the same area. Thus, if a petitioner files in the wrong venue because the long arm statute does not apply to bring legal jurisdiction closer to where the plaintiff is – usually in a more convenient location for the initiating party – then the defendant’s legal counsel can file for a Motion for a Change of Venue and ask the judge to move jurisdiction elsewhere. It is therefore vital that the petitioner assesses the most proper jurisdiction to begin with and files it in the corresponding court accordingly.
Choosing Between Pre-Litigation Mediation, Arbitration, or Filing a Lawsuit:
Before rushing right off to court, it is prudent for litigants to first consider whether mediation or arbitration is instead the more appropriate of the choices. Indeed, some contracts the parties have entered may even require mediation or arbitration. There are some key differences between these three options that we have noted below as follow:
Mediation:
Mediation services can be an excellent way for both sides in a legal case to resolve their differences quickly and inexpensively without the need for legal action. Assuming both sides consent to alternative dispute resolution and are willing to compromise, mediators can help both sides sit down and both walk away with something they want. This option can be faster, cost less, and create win-win situations, if both sides commit to compromising.
If either side refuses to compromise or if one side wants a judge or arbitrator to make the decision, then mediation services will not work. This type of legal service puts the power back into the hands of the parties. Whereas a judge or arbitrator will allocate assets in a civil case according to the law, the settlement amount, and terms in this type of legal case can be whatever the parties involved desire. The business mediator simply helps facilitate the process and does not take sides; the ultimate decision rests solely in the hands of the parties involved.
Mediation sessions do not require either party to hire an attorney in Oklahoma, and the setting is the mediator’s office instead of a courtroom. It can even take place online via Zoom. This is an informal, more relaxed process, and it offers benefits that many people enjoy. Some mediators even cook dinner for their clients, helping add to a relaxed environment. Courtroom litigants will never find a judge or jury cooking for them!
Arbitration:
Arbitrators help with a process that is a step above mediation services and a step below a formal civil lawsuit in a court of law. The arbitration process allows for a skilled, educated individual to make the decision for the parties, and it is more formal and allows for motions and other procedures that have similarities to the lawsuit process. However, dates and filings have more flexibility, and this process does not require the presence of attorneys for either party.
Civil Lawsuits:
This is the most formal of the three options to resolving legal disputes with other individuals and companies. Oklahoma’s laws require corporations to hire legal counsel now to defend themselves in court. Judges require the timely filing of motions and responses, citing specific legal cases. This is a very formal process, and a judge or jury decides which sides wins and how much in damages to award. Courts can also award court costs, attorneys’ fees, interest, and other damages.
Deciding to Hire a Civil Lawyer:
The next step in the process when suing a company is to hire the best attorney in Oklahoma to help. The merits of a legal case certainly matter and carry great weight, but having skilled, experienced legal counsel to present one’s side to a judge and, if applicable, a jury, is crucial. Each side should obtain the best attorney their money can buy.
Making the Choice for a Jury or Bench Trial:
Some legal cases with complex civil issues are best suited for a bench trial before an experienced judge who has the appropriate legal training at law school. Opting for a bench trial puts all the power and decision making into the hands of one person. Some plaintiffs want this, while others do not.
Jury trials can sometimes award significant amounts of damages, and petitioners often choose this option for simpler civil cases that do not involve complex legal issues and rules of law. Personal injury lawyers love choosing juries to hear their cases, because sympathetic people on the jury can sometimes award far more in punitive damages than a judge might during a bench trial.
Filing and Litigating the Lawsuit:
The next step in the lawsuit process for litigants is to file it. For complex cases, it is best to find an attorney for civil cases to do so. For small claims matters or indeed any case they file as individuals, plaintiffs do not need to hire a lawyer to represent them. Businesses can no longer represent themselves, so Oklahoma corporations must now have legal counsel present in court to plead their cases and counterclaims, as applicable. This is a new requirement in Oklahoma for businesses who end up in court either as plaintiffs or defendants.
The Need to Hire a Process Server to Deliver the Court Documents:
When suing a corporation, it is imperative to locate a process server to deliver the court papers to the company. Plaintiffs have several options when deciding how to complete service of process. Each method includes pros and cons, and the initiating litigants should choose the best option accordingly. The owners of our private detective agency note that litigants in civil cases must consider the following types of service of process:
Certified Mailing with a Return Receipt:
Plaintiffs may always send court papers by the cheapest method, certified mailing with a return receipt via the United States Postal Service (USPS). While less expensive, it tends to waste time and money when using it to serve court papers to smaller companies. This is because these smaller types of organizations are unlikely to sign for court documents via a certified mailing with return receipt option.
Sheriff’s Deputies:
Likewise, choosing a sheriff’s deputy may be a cheaper option than opting to find the best process server, but if the company has no stationary location in situations where the business owners are sole proprietors, then they are likely to avoid service by a sheriff. Everyone can easily recognize a deputy a mile away, and they make no effort to hide their appearance. Plus, deputies do not work on evenings, at night, or on weekends, and they rarely work on a rush basis like process servers do.
Deputies are well-suited to serve process upon larger companies with a brick-and-mortar physical location. They may encounter less resistance from belligerent staff than a process server might, for fear the deputy may arrest them and can and will go throughout a business with less fear of a police officer issuing them a trespassing citation or the business owner becoming violent. Once again, this is a cheaper option, but petitioners often get what they pay for.
Process Servers:
Litigants can also choose to locate a process server for help with delivering court papers and other legal documents to corporations and individuals they wish to serve. These legal professionals often cost more than it does to hire a deputy to help and more than the cheapest option, certified mailing with a return receipt. However, process servers in Oklahoma City have distinct advantages with their versatility, allowing them to go to do the serve without an obvious uniform.
Unlike uniformed deputies or certified mailing with a return receipt that requires the defendant to personally sign for the documents, process server in Piedmont can also go anytime of the day or night, utilize disguises, lie about their intentions/create deceptive ploys to trick the defendant into meeting, and more. A process server near me can also lie in wait for a siege serve, waiting for the individual or business owner to enter or leave a residence or place of business. While sometimes more expensive, process servers are usually the best bet for achieving effective service of process.
When to Hire a Private Investigator for Corporate Investigations:
Before, during, and after receiving legal judgments from courts, some plaintiffs find that they must locate a private detective to help them. There are many reasons why the best law firms find a private eye near me to help them with civil cases against both small and large corporations. These reasons include, but are not limited to, the following:
Stripping/Hiding Corporate Assets:
When corporations try to hide their assets by stripping their companies of all assets and then subsequently move them to a newly made company, this presents a problem. Companies often do this to prevent plaintiffs with judgments in hand from garnishing their bank accounts or seizing their other corporate assets. They may try to move titled properties and accounts out of their company’s name into their own personal names, someone else’s names, or even put them into trusts. These debtors may even try to sell them to avoid listing them as available assets.
A private eye can help flesh out a listing of titled properties someone owns, as well as uncover bank accounts where a debtor may be hiding financial assets. Likewise, if the defendant drains all assets out of a company with a judgment and moves them to another one, a PI from our private investigation agency in OKC can likewise help locate the names of the new shell corporations and can help locate the assets.
Locating the Business Owner:
If the business owner flees to another state in a desperate attempt to avoid the judgment, our skip tracers at our private detective agency in Nichols Hills, OK can likewise help track where the person moved to. Our legal firm can also do post office box checks, forwarding mail checks, social media scans, and more to locate individuals and business owners. These legal services are especially helpful both before the lawsuit begins when trying to obtain good service and while attempting to collect a judgment.
Social Media Scans:
A social media scan is an excellent investigative tool for a variety of reasons. Our digital private investigators can use them to help in the following ways:
Locate Corroborating Evidence Against Respondents in Similar Civil Cases with Other Victims of their Malfeasance:
Where there is smoke, there is always fire. The same holds true in both civil and criminal legal cases. By the time someone files a civil lawsuit or prosecutors file criminal charges against an individual or business, it is likely that the person or corporation has committed civil and/or criminal offenses against others as well that have not yet become known. Social media scans help bring these other victims and acts of malfeasance to light for both public awareness and for use in criminal and civil battles in the courtroom, during mediation services, and arbitrations.
Find the Whereabouts of Defendants/Debtors:
Digital private investigations can also help locate a missing person, such as witnesses to legal cases, fleeing debtors, and evasive defendants seeking to avoid a process server. When used in conjunction with nationwide skip tracing, P.O. box checks, fake political polls, surveillance private investigations, and forwarding mail checks, they can help bring the defendant to justice by allowing the legal process to proceed.
Locate a Judgment Debtor’s Assets:
When judgment debtors avoid process servers and try to hide their assets, our clients wisely choose to hire a private investigator to help track down the money and properties they own, where they bank, what their bank account numbers are, where they work, what new companies they have opened, and more. Our tactics are persistent, fearless, and have the highest success rates of all other private detective agencies nationwide. That is why our legal clients repeatedly request our services year after year.
As you can see, our social media private investigators have many ways to use social media scans before, during, and after the conclusion of civil lawsuits, mediations, and arbitrations against companies large and small. Our firm does many social media scans every month to help clients from all levels of society with both civil and criminal cases.
Awaiting the Verdict:
Once both sides have presented their cases to the judge or jury, both parties must await the verdict. The judge or jury may come back in favor of either party or none. What happens at this point in the crossroads will determine the future actions in civil cases that can involve collection of the judgment via a law firm or debt collection agency.
Collecting the Judgement:
Getting a judge or jury to agree to award damages in a civil case is sometimes the easiest part of the lawsuit process. This is especially true if the respondent fails to appear and the judge issues a default judgment for the plaintiff. However, this complete lack of participation can also signal a lack of cooperation when it comes to collecting the judgement. If the defendants did not care enough to show up to court, why, then, would they pay for the collection of a judgment any mind?
Plaintiffs typically either hire an attorney or enlist the assistance of a debt collection agency to assist them with the collection of their monetary and/or property judgment. From garnishing corporate bank accounts, titled properties, and salaries/wages and more, these experienced firms specialize in the recovery of assets against someone the courts have granted a judgment.
The Importance of Piercing the Corporate Veil:
Another important aspect to collecting judgments against businesses, especially limited liability corporations (LLCs), is piercing the corporate veil. Without it, one cannot pursue an individual owner’s assets and can only go after whatever the company owns. Since many small businesses use the LLC business designation to use for business purposes but keep all their assets in their names, the business and individual are the same.
Law firms will file motions to pierce the corporate veil against businesses their plaintiff clients have received a legal judgment against. By doing so, they can go after both the company’s business money and property and the owner’s personal assets. This makes individual business owners more vulnerable to civil liability in these types of legal cases and the liability that comes with operating a business. Piercing the corporate veil reminds all business owners that they do not automatically enjoy permanent financial immunity as an individual and that courts, via judges and juries, can and often do help hold them accountable for their actions and those of the businesses they run.
