Business Disputes
Loop Litigation represents companies in business and commercial disputes — breach of contract, partnership, LLC and shareholder conflicts, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and business torts, and the disputes that follow a closed deal: earnouts, indemnification claims, and purchase-price adjustments.
Dispute Assessment — $3,500 flat
Not sure whether you have a case, or what it would cost to find out? You send the documents; five business days later you get a written memo on the claims, the defenses, the realistic outcomes, the likely cost, and what we'd recommend. The five-day turnaround is in your engagement letter.
Most business disputes come down to a document somebody wrote before the relationship went wrong — a contract, an operating agreement, a purchase agreement, a set of board minutes. We litigate them the way we read them: closely, and with the commercial context around them. That means working out what the arrangement was actually for, not just what a clause says in isolation.
Deals close; disputes follow. When the parties disagree about what the numbers meant, whether a representation was accurate, or how an earnout should have been calculated, the fight turns on the deal documents and the diligence record. We litigate these matters with the transactional fluency to read the agreement the way the deal team did — and the speed to work through voluminous records without running up a voluminous bill.
For deal counsel: when a closed transaction turns into a fight, we take it from there. We litigate. We don't pitch your client on their next deal.
Owner disputes are their own category. When partners, members or shareholders fall out, the legal question and the business question are the same question: who controls the company, what a departing owner is owed, and whether the business can keep operating while it gets sorted out. We handle them with an eye on the second question, not only the first.
Representative matters
- Defeated multiple summary judgment motions in a trust and fiduciary dispute over control of a nine-figure family company, leading to a settlement in which the client obtained control and management rights.
- Represented a client in claims arising out of an asset purchase agreement, through arbitration and subsequent litigation in the Northern District of Illinois.
- Obtained complete dismissal of breach of contract, breach of warranty, and consumer fraud claims brought by a commercial press manufacturer.
- Represented a prominent video game designer in an online defamation matter, obtaining a settlement that included retraction of the statements and a seven-figure payment.
- Obtained dismissal of unjust enrichment, tortious interference, and conversion claims filed against a trust and trustee relating to joint ownership of company stock.
- Represented plaintiffs at jury trial in the Northern District of Illinois in a matter involving misappropriation of funds by a trustee.
- Obtained dismissal of RICO, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty claims brought against a Cayman Islands real estate company.
- Successfully compelled arbitration and obtained dismissal of a suit brought against an investment firm by an individual claiming a partnership interest.
These matters are described for illustration only. Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case, and prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. Certain matters were handled by Anand Mathew prior to the founding of Loop Litigation.
Typical matters
- Breach of contract and commercial agreement disputes
- Partnership, LLC and shareholder disputes, including buyouts and deadlock
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Fraud, misrepresentation and business torts
- Tortious interference with contracts and business relationships
- Post-closing purchase-price and working-capital adjustment disputes
- Earnout disputes
- Representations-and-warranties and indemnification claims
- Escrow disputes
- Vendor, supplier, customer and distribution disputes
Frequently asked questions
What does a business dispute cost?
It depends on what the other side does, which is why most firms won't answer this. Here's what we can tell you. A demand letter and pre-suit negotiation runs $3,500 flat. Getting a case filed or answered, with a strategy behind it, starts at $9,500. Emergency injunctive relief through a hearing is typically $25,000–$45,000, quoted by phase. Full-scale litigation through trial depends almost entirely on discovery volume — which is exactly where our cost structure differs most from a traditional firm's. Before you commit to anything, a $3,500 Dispute Assessment will tell you what your matter is likely to cost.
What counts as a business dispute?
In practice, most are one of three things: someone did not do what a contract required, an owner or fiduciary did something they were not entitled to do, or a deal did not turn out the way the documents said it would. We handle all three — from breach-of-contract and fiduciary duty claims, through partnership and shareholder fights, to post-closing disputes over earnouts and indemnification.
Can you handle a dispute between business partners or shareholders?
Yes. Partnership, LLC and shareholder disputes are a core part of this practice — buyout disagreements, deadlock, breach of fiduciary duty, and fights over control or access to company records. These matters usually need a workable resolution more than a long fight, so we start by working out what outcome actually leaves you where you need to be.
What is an earnout dispute?
An earnout ties part of a deal's price to the target's post-closing performance. Disputes arise when buyer and seller disagree on whether targets were met or whether the buyer operated the business in a way that affected them. These matters turn on contract language and financial records — both areas where our workflows create real leverage.
Do you handle both buyer- and seller-side disputes?
Yes. We represent parties on either side of post-closing commercial disputes.