Thanks Mridula for sharing your query: "What is the difference between sending a legal notice and filing a court case. And if I send a legal notice to someone (no I am not sending one but who knows in future) am I obliged to fight a court case too?"
Scenario 1
You have a great dinner party at a restaurant called Golden Dragon and you find yourself and everyonelse throwing up, hospitalized due to food poisoning and of course, you are livid. You can send a legal notice through a lawyer.
Purpose of Legal Notice: An Example
The purpose of the legal notice is to inform Golden Dragon about the disputed issue that has caused you tremendous difficulty and measure it with a specific compensation that you seek to settle the dispute. In this case, lets call it chronic food poisoning. Your legal notice will state facts and ask Golden Dragon for an apology (if you want) and the amount of compensation. Once Golden Dragon receives the legal notice, they can respond to it with their statement. If the dispute is not settled to your satisfaction, your lawyer can file a case in court by producing a copy of the legal notice, the reply to it and your filing for compensation.
Purpose is to Inform the Other Party
To answer your question, a legal notice is your first step to inform the other party about a dispute that has arisen through a chronological statement of facts. This enables the other party to agree, disagree or respond to your allegations in writing. It also gives both parties an opportunity to understand the dispute, the laws in question and see if an amicable settlement can be reached without the matter reaching the courts.
And yes, to answer the second part of your question, once you have filed a case in court as per procedure, you have to fight it till the end. You can settle it in between if both parties agree to resolve the issue but if you file a suit and you don't fight it, that is tantamount to wasting the precious time of the court and misusing the procedures of law.
Feel free to share your thoughts and queries.
12 comments:
excellent clarity boss.thanks..:) and buddy thanks for the invite ya...hope to catch up sometime god willing...do visit mumbai/chennai if u have time..cheers:)
Excellent post. Lot of people think just because a legal notice was sent to them, they are alrady in a court of law. Thanks for the clarification.
Nice informative blog. Lot of people mistake a "legal notice" as if it is a "court case docuemnt".
Thank you for doing this. But is it possible that I get no answer to my legal notice? You know where this is coming from. My hesitation to file a case (not for the present one it got settled without legal notice too) and yet the desire to do something. Also every lawyer that talked to me told me filing a case is a real drag. What do you say?
@Ramesh: Have a great trip and thanks for the comments.
@SG: Yes, that is true.
@Mridula: Filing a case is easy. There is no drag bit to it unless you have procedure related problems like undue delays. If you get no answer to the legal notice, you can go ahead and file the case by submitting proof that you have sent a legal notice to the other party but had no response from that person. The problem with filing a case is that it can be expensive and it requires your constant monitoring/effort because you are the plaintiff. If you don't have a problem with that, there is nothing to worry about. For most people, these two factors cramp their enthusiasm to file a case.
Hi,
Excellent Post!! Very informative. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for the visit to my blog!! Hope to see you again there..
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Thanks Swatantra. Do keep visiting and feel free to share your thoughts.
Thanks SG and I wish the same for you and your loved ones.
Here in UK the same principal applies. The parties are given time to have a discussion through a court appointed negotiator. And only when all avenues for discussion are closed then the case proceeds for judgement.Thanks again Sananad...
Have a Very Happy New Year!!
@Lazy Pineapple: Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the post. Yes, we in India follow the UK format when it comes to laws.
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