Litigation

Litigation refers to the process of resolving legal disputes by putting a case before a trial court.  It involves filing pleadings; conducting "discovery" to obtain information about the dispute from witnesses, documents, and other evidence; filing motions to have the court rule on legal issues; and presenting the evidence in court to have disputed facts determined by the judge or a jury.  After a judgment is rendered in the trial court, appeals of legal errors may follow.  Settlement negotiations take place throughout the process.  The attorneys at Cooke & King, LLLP, understand the importance of working closely with clients to keep them informed and actively involved in every stage of their case’s development.

Business litigation can include:

• Commercial law disputes relating to contracts, buying and selling goods, deceptive or unfair trade practices, and the collection of debts.
• Business ownership disputes relating to corporate shareholder actions; partnership and joint venture agreements; the purchase, sale merger, and dissolution of businesses; and business governance issues including embezzlement, unauthorized salaries, or unauthorized distributions of capital.
• Business torts for negligence, fraud, misrepresentation, theft, misappropriation of trade secrets, theft of confidential business information, conversion of property, interference with business relationships, interference with contracts, bad faith, defamation, libel, slander, unfair competition, professional malpractice, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and unfair competition.
• Employment law disputes relating to employment contracts, restrictive covenants (non-solicitation agreements, non-compete agreements, confidentiality agreements), theft of trade secrets or confidential business information, and breach of the duty of loyalty.

The experienced litigators of Cooke & King, LLLP, provide aggressive, yet cost-effective, legal representation to resolve a wide variety of business disputes through arbitration, mediation, and in state and federal courts.  We also work with clients to prevent litigation by carefully reviewing and negotiating contracts and providing well-drafted company formation documents and management plans.  Our attorneys have successfully litigated on behalf of all types of businesses, large and small.  Although we welcome all sorts of business clients, we have worked hard to develop particular expertise in automotive litigation, business law, construction law, and real estate law.

Automotive Litigation

The retail automotive business faces significant legal challenges arising from changing laws, shifting regulations, and increased consumer and product liability actions.  In addition to the contract, employment, franchising and other legal issues commonly faced by all businesses, automobile dealerships face enormous legal hurdles when attempting to navigate industry-specific governmental regulations.  Cooke & King, LLLP, provides strategic business and compliance planning, and effectively handles federal and state regulatory matters, as well as governmental agency investigations affecting the automotive industry.

As an integrated full-service law firm, Cooke & King, LLLP, provides the legal services demanded by auto dealers in the areas of employment, tax, franchise law, intellectual property, terminations, real estate, dealer transfers, antitrust and trade regulation, trade association law, dealer consumer litigation, insurance, legal compliance consultation, administrative law, white collar criminal law, and defense of government investigations.

We apply our deep understanding of the automotive industry to vigorously represent dealers in all types of consumer litigation involving Lemon Laws, product liability claims, unfair business or trade practices, fraud, and class actions. Aware of the important relationship between dealers and their manufacturers, we quickly and aggressively assert indemnity demands to ensure an adequate defense for the dealer. The attorneys at Cooke & King, LLLP, also help dealers comply with the many regulations concerning sales and financing practices, consumer regulations, and media and advertising. We work with advertisers and review advertising copy for television, radio, and print media to ensure regulatory compliance.

Business Law

Business law governs business and commerce in both the private and public sectors.  It provides a legal framework within which businesses are created, organized and conducted.  Business law covers a wide variety of topics relating to the law of agency, corporations, partnerships, limited partnerships, franchises, and limited liability companies.  It involves such issues as fiduciary relationships, closely held corporations, shares and stockholders, directors and officers, dissolution and receivership, franchise relationships, management duties and liabilities, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and antitrust.
 
To buy or sell a business, the purchase or sale will be structured either as an acquisition or as a merger.  Acquisitions can either be an asset purchase, where the buyer purchases the seller's assets, free and clear of any liabilities, or a stock purchase, where the buyer purchases the business' stock and actually takes over the business, instead of just buying the merchandise.  A merger of two businesses shares many characteristics of an asset purchase and a stock purchase and at the end of the transaction, the two businesses are combined as one.  We provide a wide array of business law services, including handling business formations, small business practices, business franchising, dissolution, disputes, contracts, and litigation.

Our clientele is vastly diverse both in technology and in size, ranging from start-up businesses to large corporations and international companies.  We are strong in business counseling and advice, as well as in drafting business agreements and litigation.  Our attorneys are bright, innovative, hard-working, and aggressive problem-solvers who understand our clients’ businesses and share a commitment to help clients achieve their business goals.

Construction Law

Construction law can vary by state; a building under construction means and includes erection, construction, moving, conversion, alteration, remodeling, and addition.  The community's building inspection department, office of planning and zoning, or department of permits will have a listing of the necessary construction law permits.

Construction litigation matters traditionally focused on breach of contract theories involving breach by one party of express contractual duties.  Available contract theories have expanded based upon allegations of breach of implied contractual duties.  However, in the construction context, the failure to perform may give rise to a civil action for the failure of contractors or design professionals to perform their contractually specified or implied services in accordance with a generally recognized standard of care and skill.

Our construction lawyers draft, review, and negotiate contracts; handle pre-construction risk transfer strategies; assess insurance and risk management protections; and  handle disputes on a variety of project types including commercial buildings, luxury condominiums, sports stadiums, multi-family housing retail; and mixed-use developments.  We also handle cases relating to the damages caused by delays, breach of contract, surety bond claims, architectural and design defects, mechanics liens, governmental disputes, and prompt payment act litigation.

Our construction claims services include the evaluation of claims, preparation and resolution, scheduling analysis that includes the critical path (CPM), schedule development, status, updates as-built and delay analysis.  We also quantify and evaluate damages and analyze productivity, design and construction performance, disruption, and impact, as well as provide services relating to risk evaluation, trial graphics, multimedia presentation, litigation, arbitration, and mediation.

Real Estate Law

Real estate law covers the rights to possess, use, and enjoy land and the permanent manmade additions attached to it.  This includes the capacity to hold interests in real property, permissible interests in real property, relations between owners, relations between owners and the community, landlord and tenant relations, the transfer of interests in real property, and real property financing, including deeds and mortgages.  A wide body of federal and state law governs real estate transactions, such as purchases, sales, and leases, and the requirements established by state law often vary from state to state.

Commercial real estate law governs real property, the immovable property such as land, buildings and fixtures that is operated for profit.  Commercial real estate includes income generated from offices, shopping malls, restaurants, industrial parks, retail stores, and factories.  Both federal and state laws regulate commercial real estate transactions.  Although commercial real estate investment can be very profitable, there is always an element of risk involved, such as non-payment of rent or depreciation of the value of the property.

Our real estate practice focuses on advising owners, developers, buyers, contractors, architects, engineers, and builders regarding commercial and residential transactions.  We also provide advice on agreements for both developed and undeveloped land, including negotiating commercial office leases or retail-shop leases to dealing with real estate investors, investment partnerships, real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, brokerage and property management firms, and other real estate professionals.

We offer extensive transactional services related to all aspects of real estate and commercial development, including purchase, sale, and transfer; mortgages; foreclosure and eviction; contract drafting and review; disputes arising out of breach of contracts; disputes between the landlord and the tenant; closings; lease and purchase agreements; land use; zoning; and easements.