Katkocin Law Office: Highly Experienced Civil Litigation

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Civil litigation typically concerns an injured party's suing to recover compensation or other remedies for the harm he or she sustained as a result of another's wrongful conduct. The term "civil litigation" can encompass a variety of types of lawsuits. Katkocin Law Office can help you with:

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• Personal injury litigation — Resulting from an individual having been injured in a slip-and-fall incident, or in a motor vehicle accident such as a collision with another vehicle, a pedestrian having been struck by an automobile, or a passenger having sustained injuries in an accident caused by the driver's negligence. Often automobile insurance covers such claims.

• Commercial litigation — This term commonly refers to a broad array of disputes involving business matters. Some types of commercial litigation include breach of contract (for example a business contract or a contract to purchase real estate), claims between business owners (for example a partner claiming breach of fiduciary duty against another partner or oppressed minority shareholder litigation), fraud (both business fraud and consumer fraud), injunctive relief, and claims for punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

• Estate and probate litigation — This area includes lawsuits to contest a Will, claims relating to trusts, and claims arising from an agent's abuse of a power of attorney.

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To establish the negligence of a motor vehicle operator or a property owner, an injured victim, the "plaintiff," must establish four elements against the wrongdoer, the "defendant." These elements are duty, breach, cause, and harm. A successful plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed him or her the duty to act as a reasonable person would act, that the defendant breached that duty by not acting reasonably, and that the breach of that duty caused harm to the plaintiff. 

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Someone harmed by another's breach of contract may have a variety of remedies depending upon the circumstances and the nature of the transaction. For example, one may seek compensatory damages (money) for the loss of the benefit of the bargain. These damages are designed to place the nonbreaching party into the same position he would have been had the other party not breached. Restitution is designed to return the harmed party to the position he held before he entered into the contract. Specific performance, which typically is awarded only when money damages are insufficient, requires the breaching party to perform specifically what he had agreed to do in the contract. For example, if the seller of real estate breaches the contract of sale, the purchaser can seek an order from the court compelling the seller to sell him the property. 

In probate litigation, for example a Will contest in New Jersey based upon "undue influence," the contestant usually must establish a confidential relationship between the person making the Will and the beneficiary against whom the claim is directed, accompanied by suspicious circumstances. 

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Call me at my office in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, at (609) 953-2000 for a free initial telephone consultation.  With more than 30 years of experience, I can answer your questions and give you an accurate and honest assessment of your civil litigation claim.