Business and Contract Disputes

When a company fails to keep its agreement, the contract is only the beginning

You paid for work that was never completed. A vendor failed to deliver. A business partner changed the deal. A company accepted your money and stopped responding. Or the other side now insists the agreement means something different from what everyone understood when the deal was made.

A useful contract analysis goes beyond asking whether a promise was broken. It asks:

What agreement can be proved?
What performance did each side owe?
Was performance due, excused, modified, or waived?
What loss did the breach actually cause?
Which remedy is available—and economically sensible?

Shirer Law represents individuals and small businesses in New Orleans contract and commercial disputes. We review the agreement, communications, payment history, performance, defenses, damages, dispute-resolution terms, and ability to collect before recommending a course of action.

Call 504-499-1010 to schedule a contract review and confidential consultation.

Is there an enforceable agreement?

The signed contract is usually the best starting point, but it may not be the entire agreement. Louisiana contracts can sometimes be formed through written terms, an oral agreement, emails, text messages, invoices, purchase orders, or conduct showing offer and acceptance. Other transactions require a particular form.

When a contract was changed informally or never reduced to one signed document, we examine:

Proposals, estimates, invoices, and purchase orders
Emails, text messages, and portal communications
Deposits, partial payments, and refunds
What each side did after the agreement
Change orders and later modifications
Industry practices and the parties’ prior dealings
Statements or conduct showing waiver or acceptance

Louisiana has special proof rules for certain oral contracts valued above $500. The absence of a signed document therefore does not always end the inquiry, but it can make corroborating evidence especially important.

What counts as a breach of contract?

A breach occurs when a party fails to perform an enforceable obligation without a legally sufficient excuse. Common disputes include:

Payment accepted but goods or services not delivered

A customer or business pays a deposit or invoice, but the promised product never arrives, the work is abandoned, or performance falls materially short of the agreed scope.

Incomplete or defective performance

The other party may claim the job is complete while substantial work remains or the delivered product does not conform to the agreement. These cases often require a careful comparison of the contract, specifications, change orders, inspections, and repair or completion costs.

Unpaid invoices or amounts due

A customer receives the agreed goods or services but refuses to pay, manufactures complaints after the fact, or disputes an invoice that previously went unchallenged.

Vendor, supplier, and commercial-service disputes

Delayed deliveries, recurring service failures, pricing disagreements, exclusivity provisions, purchase commitments, and termination rights can interrupt operations and cause losses beyond the amount of a single invoice.

Ownership and business-relationship disputes

Members, partners, shareholders, or participants in a closely held business may disagree about compensation, distributions, authority, records, ownership, or obligations imposed by an operating agreement or other contract.

Lease and property-related agreements

Commercial leases and other property agreements can produce disputes over rent, repairs, build-out obligations, use restrictions, renewal, default, termination, deposits, and personal guaranties.

Settlement and release agreements

A settlement is itself a contract. If a party fails to make the promised payment, transfer property, dismiss a claim, or perform another settlement term, enforcement may require prompt and focused action.

How Shirer Law analyzes a contract dispute

1. Identify the actual parties and controlling documents

A trade name, website, salesperson, affiliate, and contracting company may not be the same legal person. We identify who made the obligation, who received the benefit, whether an individual signed personally or for an entity, and whether a guaranty applies.

We then assemble the complete agreement. That may include incorporated terms, attachments, amendments, online terms, warranty provisions, and later modifications—not merely the signature page.

2. Map the obligations and performance

We create a simple chronology showing what each party promised, when performance was due, what occurred, what was accepted, and what objections were made. This helps distinguish an actual breach from a disagreement about scope, timing, conditions, or quality.

It also reveals defenses that should be confronted early: prior material breach, nonpayment, failure of a condition, force majeure, waiver, modification, impossibility, untimely notice, or failure to provide an opportunity to cure.

3. Examine dispute-resolution and remedy provisions

Before sending a demand or filing suit, we look for:

Mandatory notice and cure procedures
Mediation or arbitration clauses
Forum-selection and choice-of-law provisions
Limits on damages or shortened claim periods
Warranty procedures and exclusive remedies
Termination provisions
Indemnity and attorney-fee clauses
Personal guaranties, security interests, or retainage

Ignoring a procedural clause can weaken an otherwise valid claim. Following it carefully can improve the chance of an efficient resolution.

4. Prove the loss—not merely the wrongdoing

Liability and damages are separate questions. We determine whether the evidence connects the breach to a measurable loss and whether the amount can be established without speculation.

Depending on the agreement, recoverable relief may include:

Amounts paid or contract benefits due
Reasonable completion or correction costs
Proven lost revenue or profits caused by the breach
Delay damages or legal interest
Return of property or money
Dissolution or rescission of the agreement when legally available
Specific performance in an appropriate case
Attorney fees when authorized by the contract or a statute

Emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorney fees are not automatic in an ordinary contract case. We calculate the remedies the law and agreement actually support.

5. Evaluate economics and collectability

A strong claim is not always a sensible lawsuit. We compare the likely recovery with legal fees, expert costs, delay, business disruption, and collection risk. We also investigate whether the responsible entity is active, properly identified, insured for the dispute, or likely to have assets available to satisfy a judgment.

This practical analysis may support a targeted demand, early mediation, limited-scope work, arbitration, litigation, or a decision not to pursue the matter. Honest case selection protects the client from spending more to win than the dispute is worth.

Breach of contract, fraud, and unfair trade practices are different claims

A company does not commit fraud merely because it fails to perform. Fraud generally concerns an intentional misrepresentation or suppression of truth used to obtain consent or an unfair advantage. Likewise, an alleged breach does not automatically become a claim under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

When the evidence shows deception independent of ordinary nonperformance—such as taking payment while concealing facts that make performance impossible—we evaluate whether additional statutory or delictual claims may apply. Those claims can involve different elements, remedies, defenses, and deadlines.

Precise pleading matters. Adding dramatic labels without supporting facts can increase cost and distract from an otherwise sound contract claim.

Our approach to resolving the dispute

Early case assessment

We review the agreement, communications, proof of payment, performance history, claimed damages, defenses, deadlines, and the opposing party’s ability to respond. We explain what is strong, what is missing, and what the likely economics look like.

Focused demand and negotiation

An effective demand identifies the agreement, the obligation breached, the evidence, the amount or performance sought, and a realistic deadline. It also complies with any required notice-and-cure process. The objective is to create a credible path to resolution—not simply to express frustration.

Mediation or arbitration

Some contracts require alternative dispute resolution. Even when it is optional, mediation may help parties resolve a dispute while controlling expense, confidentiality, timing, and business risk. Arbitration can be efficient in some matters but costly or restrictive in others. We evaluate the actual clause and forum rather than assuming either process is preferable.

Litigation when justified

When the opposing party will not offer a reasonable resolution and the economics support suit, we prepare the case for court. That includes admissible proof of the agreement, breach, causation, damages, and entitlement to each requested remedy.

No lawyer can guarantee an outcome. The result depends on the contract language, evidence, credibility, governing law, defenses, collectability, and decision-maker.

What to do when a company breaks an agreement

Preserve the complete agreement. Save attachments, linked terms, warranty language, proposals, and change orders—not just the signature page.
Export electronic communications. Preserve emails, texts, account messages, and attachments in their original context.
Create a payment and performance timeline. Identify amounts paid, work completed, missed milestones, objections, and promises to cure.
Document the present condition. Use dated photographs, video, inspections, estimates, inventory records, or other reliable proof.
Read the notice, cure, arbitration, and termination provisions. Do this before canceling the contract, withholding your own performance, or filing suit.
Take reasonable steps to limit additional loss. Keep records of replacement bids, substitute purchases, repair efforts, and other mitigation.
Do not sign a release or revised agreement without understanding it. A refund, credit, new deadline, or partial payment may be accompanied by terms affecting the remaining claim.
Act before the shortest possible deadline. Contract, warranty, redhibition, consumer, lien, and statutory claims may have different time limits.

Frequently asked questions

Can I enforce an oral contract in Louisiana?

Sometimes. Louisiana generally recognizes consent expressed orally, in writing, or through conduct unless the law requires a particular form. But proof becomes more demanding for certain oral contracts valued above $500, and some transactions require a writing. Messages, payments, witnesses, and performance may provide important corroboration.

Can I recover attorney fees if I win?

Not automatically. Attorney fees ordinarily must be authorized by a contract or a specific statute. A fee provision may also have conditions or apply only to certain claims or parties. We review the exact language before treating fees as part of the potential recovery.

Can I recover lost profits?

Possibly, when the profits were caused by the breach, legally recoverable, and proven with sufficient reliability. Historical financial records, contracts, orders, margins, capacity, and expert analysis may be needed. A hopeful projection alone is usually not enough.

Can the court force the company to perform?

Louisiana law recognizes specific performance in appropriate cases, but availability depends on the kind of obligation and whether performance is practicable. In other cases, damages, dissolution, restitution, or another remedy may be more suitable.

How long do I have to bring a contract claim?

Louisiana’s general period for a personal action is ten years unless another law applies. That rule should not be used as a universal deadline. The transaction may involve a shorter warranty, redhibition, unfair-trade-practice, construction, lien, appeal, arbitration, or contractual period. Delay can also impair proof and collection even when suit is not yet prescribed.

Is negotiation or mediation always better than litigation?

No single process is best for every dispute. Early resolution can reduce expense and uncertainty, but leverage depends on the evidence, urgency, parties, contract, and collection risk. Sometimes a filed suit or emergency relief is necessary; sometimes litigation would cost more than it is likely to return.

Is my dispute large enough to justify a lawyer?

That depends on more than the amount demanded. We consider the provable recovery, available fee-shifting, complexity, required experts, opposing party, collectability, and whether focused advice or a limited demand could resolve the issue without full litigation.

Prepare for your consultation

If available, bring or send:

The signed contract and all attachments
Proposals, bids, estimates, invoices, and change orders
Proof of deposits and payments
Emails, text messages, letters, and portal communications
Photographs, inspection reports, and repair or completion estimates
A short timeline of performance and missed obligations
Any demand, default, cancellation, warranty, or termination notice
Information identifying the company and the individuals involved
The amount sought and documents showing how it was calculated
Any arbitration, mediation, forum, or attorney-fee provision

You do not need to organize the file perfectly. Complete documents and an accurate chronology are more valuable than polished labels.

Get a practical assessment of the agreement, the loss, and the next step

If a company failed to deliver, refused to pay, abandoned its work, or broke another contractual obligation, Shirer Law can evaluate the agreement, evidence, remedies, deadlines, and economics of pursuing the dispute.