Civil litigation. When does it occur and how to solve it.

Nobody likes the idea of litigation, but sadly conflicts are more common than you would think.

Of course, legal disputes can also be solved either by negotiation or mediation, these being only two of the effective ways of solving commercial litigation. Still, sometimes the stakes are so high that even in the case of civil litigation you could go to court.

What is civil litigation? 

Civil litigation is a process that can resolve conflicts or misunderstandings related to personal non patrimonial rights.

The decision comes down to the court’s ruling more often than not.

Examples of civil litigation

Civil litigation covers a vast array of activities and related disputes, the most commonplace examples being: 

• disputes between tenants and landlords;
• disproving inheritance claims;
• claiming property, lands or houses;
• debt recovery;
• obtaining information about the land registry;
• annulment of judicial documents;
• violation of a business partnership/contract
• intellectual property theft;
• custody dispute cases;
• conflicts between physical persons and companies, conflicts which could lead to brand degradation;
• malpraxis trials;
• conflicts between employer and employees. 

Famous civil litigation cases

In what follows we will discuss a couple of famous civil litigation cases which led to brand degradation and reputation issues for products. 

Liebeck vs McDonald’s

One of the most famous trials won against a business is Liebeck vs McDonalds, in which the giant was forced by the courts to pay 2.7 million dollars in damages. How did all this happen? It all started with Stella Liebeck, aged 79, who got third degree burns after accidentally spilling her takeaway coffee on herself. The problem was that the drink in question was incredibly hot. 

McDonald’s had already faced hundreds of complaints on this topic, the conclusion being that the beverage served by them was approximately 50 degrees C hotter than coffee served by other fast food restaurants. Initially, Mrs. Liebeck asked only for money covering the skin grafts. As McDonald’s refused, the woman initiated a trial that led to the aforementioned damages being paid. 

Apple vs Samsung

Apple also has a record of  legal disputes which could become a case study on the subject of intellectual property theft. This is due to accusations of copying functionalities from products sold by Nokia, Kodak and three other chinese companies. Apart from these disputes, there were other accusations of racism and data protection policy violations. 

It’s likely that the most famous trial is Apple versus Samsung, pertaining to four design features copied by Samsung. In a surprising twist, the courts in Great Britain decided that Samsung wasn’t cool enough, so it was unlikely that the features were copied from Apple products.

Peters vs Universal Studios 

A rather amusing example of civil litigation is the Cleanthi Peters vs Universal Studios case. Cleanthi asked for 15.000 dollars because she had visited a haunted house and she suffered extreme fear, emotional distress and anxiety. According to statements, Cleanthi tripped and fell as a result of being chased by a horror movie character. The trial stopped as Cleathi realized how absurd the situation was. 

Uber

Not even Uber was able to avoid such civil litigation, facing 56 separate charges in 2018 for sexual harassment. During the investigation, which concluded with paying damages amounting to 1.9 million dollars, other problems were unearthed, such as instances of racism and hostility and lack of ethics by Uber. Overall, Uber paid over 20 million dollars for the amicable conclusion of the trials. The damage done to Uber’s reputation can’t even be evaluated, this loss resulting in desinstallation of the app by thousands of users. This conflict also led to the firing of Uber’s CEO. Most likely a background check will be used in Uber’s hiring process in the future. 

All the cases demonstrate that civil litigation may end amicably or by long and complicated trials that will absorb both money and time. But sometimes you have no choice.

That is why it’s recommended that you always be prepared and contact a team of professionals.