Baton Rouge Business Litigation Lawyer

Are you looking for a business litigation lawyer in Baton Rouge, LA?

At Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law, we provide business litigation representation from a firm with 48 years of practice and recognition from Martindale-Hubbell.

If your company is owed money, faces a breach of contract claim, or is in conflict with a co-owner, the documents and deadlines involved will largely decide the outcome. Our Baton Rouge, LA business litigation lawyer represents businesses, lenders, and creditors in state and federal court and in negotiations that resolve disputes before trial.

Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law has handled commercial litigation, collections, and creditor matters since 1978. Contact us to discuss the dispute.

Business Litigation Lawyer Baton Rouge, LA

A business litigation lawyer represents a company or lender when a commercial relationship breaks down and the parties cannot resolve it on their own. The work includes collection suits, contract claims, disputes between owners, and litigation connected to a debtor’s bankruptcy.

East Baton Rouge Parish had 12,542 employer establishments in 2023, according to the Census Bureau’s QuickFacts. Each one depends on contracts with customers, suppliers, lenders, and partners. A business litigation attorney in Baton Rouge enforces those contracts when payment stops or performance fails.

Types of Business Litigation Cases We Handle in Baton Rouge

Clients of our Baton Rouge business litigation attorney include businesses, lenders, secured creditors, and committees of unsecured creditors. Most of our cases involve money owed, collateral, or the rights of owners in a closely held company.

• Collections and open accounts. A customer that stops paying an account or a promissory note can be sued for the balance and accrued interest. We file collection suits and pursue the judgment through garnishment or seizure.
• Breach of contract. Supply agreements, service contracts, and leases all create obligations that can be enforced in court. We evaluate the contract terms and the damages before recommending filing a lawsuit.
• Lender representation. Banks and other lenders need counsel when a borrower defaults or begins to show financial strain. We represent lenders in state court collection actions and in enforcing guaranties.
• Foreclosure and creditor remedies. Louisiana allows a secured creditor to enforce a properly drafted mortgage through executory process, an expedited procedure. We handle executory and ordinary proceedings against real estate and other collateral.
• Bankruptcy-related litigation. When a debtor files bankruptcy, creditors must protect their claims in that case. We file proofs of claim, represent unsecured creditor committees in Chapter 11 cases, and litigate disputes over collateral and payments.
• Partnership and member disputes. Co-owners of partnerships and LLCs sometimes disagree over management, distributions, or a buyout. We represent owners in these disputes and in the dissolution of the business when that becomes necessary.
• Disputes over business and asset sales. Claims can arise after a sale over the purchase price, representations in the agreement, or the condition of assets. We represent buyers and sellers in those claims.
• Workouts and restructuring. Not every default has to end in a lawsuit. We negotiate forbearance agreements, restructured payment terms, and orderly liquidations for distressed companies and their lenders.

Why Choose Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law as My Business Litigation Lawyer in Baton Rouge, LA?

Lender and Creditor Experience From Inside a Bank

Richard J. Tomeny, Jr. built and managed the Legal and Special Assets Department at Jefferson Guaranty Bank, the unit responsible for problem loans. He later served as a bank’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel, then as special counsel to several Louisiana banks from 1986 to 1988. That background is the foundation of our financially distressed business practice. We understand how lenders evaluate a default, what collateral is worth in a forced sale, and when a negotiated workout returns more than a judgment.

Practice Before Louisiana’s Federal Courts

Our founder is admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana and to the Fifth Circuit. He has been admitted to the Louisiana bar since 1978. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. New Orleans Magazine named him one of the top business lawyers in that city in 2009. He is an active member of the Turnaround Management Association, whose members work on corporate restructuring and distressed businesses.

Understanding Business Litigation Cases

Claims, Remedies, and Defenses in Business Litigation

Louisiana law sets both the claims a business can bring and the deadlines for bringing them. These concepts arise most often in the matters a business litigation lawyer in Baton Rouge handles.

• Breach of contract. A party that fails to perform as promised owes the damages its failure caused, including lost profits that can be proven with reasonable certainty.
• Open account and money lent. Suits on an open account, on money lent, and for compensation for services must be filed within three years.
• Other contract claims. Most other personal actions, including many breach of contract claims, carry a ten-year prescriptive period.
• Tort claims. Claims such as fraud or interference with a business relationship carry a two-year period for damage sustained on or after July 1, 2024.
• Damages for late payment. When the obligation is to pay money, the damages for delay are generally measured by interest from the date payment was due.

What Is the Business Litigation Case Timeline?

Cases handled by a Baton Rouge, LA business litigation attorney vary in length, and many settle before trial. Most move through these stages.

• A written demand that sets out the claim and gives the other party a chance to pay or respond
• Filing of a petition in state or federal court, followed by the defendant’s answer or exceptions
• Discovery, including document exchanges, written questions, and depositions
• Motions, mediation, or settlement negotiations
• Trial, judgment, and enforcement through garnishment, seizure, or a judicial mortgage on the debtor’s real estate

What Should You Bring to Your Business Litigation Consultation?

The documents behind the dispute tell our business litigation attorney in Baton Rouge most of what is needed at the first meeting. Please gather what you can of the following.

1. The contract, promissory note, guaranty, or lease, with any amendments
2. Invoices, account statements, and a payment history
3. Correspondence and emails with the other party about the dispute
4. Mortgages, security agreements, and other collateral documents
5. Any petition, demand letter, or court notice you have received, with the date you received it

We will examine the documents and explain your options and the deadlines that apply. Litigation is expensive. A demand letter or negotiated workout resolves many disputes, and we raise those options before any suit is filed.

What Are Important Aspects of a Business Litigation Case?

Several factors determine whether a business dispute should be filed, settled, or restructured.

• Prescription. A claim filed after its prescriptive period has run can be dismissed regardless of its merits.
• Contract terms. Venue clauses and arbitration provisions decide where a case is heard and how it proceeds.
• Collectability. A judgment has value only if the debtor has assets or income to satisfy it, and property placed in asset protection structures may be beyond a creditor’s reach.
• The automatic stay. Once a debtor files bankruptcy, collection actions stop, and a creditor’s remedies move to the bankruptcy case.
• Owner succession. When a co-owner dies, the business interest passes through the owner’s succession, and disputes with the heirs may require succession litigation. Owners can address those questions in advance through business succession planning, which our estate planning practice handles.

Baton Rouge Courthouses and Local Business Litigation Resources

State-court business suits in this parish are filed in the 19th Judicial District Court, which has original jurisdiction over civil matters. Claims within federal jurisdiction are heard in the Middle District of Louisiana, whose nine parishes include East Baton Rouge.

• Bankruptcy cases filed by debtors in the district proceed in the federal bankruptcy court for the Middle District, which publishes information for creditors on filing claims.
• A money judgment recorded in the parish mortgage records through the Clerk’s recording department becomes a judicial mortgage on the debtor’s real estate in the parish.

Reach Out to Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law to Schedule a Consultation

Contact us to schedule a consultation with our Baton Rouge business litigation lawyer. Bring the contract and payment records, and Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law will assess the claim, the defenses, and the most practical path to recovery.