Gugerty Law Office

DISPUTES-LITIGATION

With our emphasis on real estate and business transactions, we find that most of our disputes or litigation cases concern real estate loans, contracts or leases or other business transactions.

Mediation and Arbitration. With the ever increasing cost and time that litigation consumes, avoiding litigation if at all possible is often attractive to both parties. Mediation is a voluntary process in which the disputants, with or without counsel, meet with an impartial party, called a mediator, to discuss the dispute and explore whether they can reach a mutually acceptable agreement. Arbitration, which is sometimes required prior to litigation by contract, is a process in which the parties present the facts and legal arguments of their case before an impartial party, call an arbitrator, who decides the case is favor of one party or the other based on the evidence presented.

Litigation. Our litigation practice is generally limited to real estate related or business disputes. This includes breach of real estate sales contracts and other business agreements, boundary or title disputes, as well as the following types of cases discussed below: landlord-tenant disputes, loan defaults and foreclosures, and creditor representation in bankruptcy court.

Landlord-Tenant Disputes. We have extensive experience in commercial and residential landlord-tenant litigation in the Maryland, DC and Virginia courts.

Loan Defaults – Foreclosures. While our firm usually represents lenders in loan default or foreclosure situations, from time to time we also represent borrowers in loan workout situations. Although foreclosures are considered a last resort and are generally losing propositions for both the borrower and the lender, our experience is that trying to avoid foreclosures at the eleventh hour is much more difficult, and that in both commercial or residential loans, those workouts that are successful happen when the lender and borrower communicate their mutual desire to avoid foreclosure early in the process.

Representation of Creditors in Bankruptcy. We provide representation to our clients who are creditors in bankruptcy cases, and provide advise and assistance in filing proofs of claim, attending creditors’ meetings, and filing and/or responding to motions or adversary proceedings.

Member of Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia Bars