PRACTICAL LAW LITIGATION PLAYBOOK

Litigating a breach of contract action

The answers you need and how to proceed when litigating a matter

It takes accurate answers and comprehensive insights to address both simple and complex research challenges. Tap into the combined power of Thomson Reuters® Practical Law and Westlaw to gain guidance on the process, substance, and underlying content needed to effectively manage your litigation matter.

Together, Practical Law and Westlaw provide you with the fastest way to find the answers you need and how to proceed when faced with a breach of contract, or any other type of litigation matter.

Scenario: Litigating a breach of contract action

Assess breach of contract claims against your client and determine how best to respond to those claims in an unfamiliar court and jurisdiction

You are a Pennsylvania attorney who is admitted to a New York federal court pro hac vice to represent a long-standing firm client in a contract dispute. The client insists that you represent them in all their lawsuits. The lawsuit was filed in federal court, although New York substantive law applies, and involves multiple contracts and claims sounding in breach of contract but the client is uncertain if the contract covers each of the claims.

The client asks you to assess the complaint; identify all possible defenses, counterclaims, and forms of relief available under New York law; and advise them whether they can and should move to dismiss.

The client is especially concerned because they have similar contracts with customers in other jurisdictions and anticipates multiple lawsuits in multiple states. It has been some time since you have litigated a case in federal court with most of your cases pending in Pennsylvania state court.

Turning the matter away could risk losing future business from this client, so you want to keep it in house, even though it involves defending a claim in an unfamiliar jurisdiction and court. It’s critical to win this matter and keep your client, so you need to quickly learn how to take this on.

With Practical Law, efficiently get up to speed to impress your client with your ability to take on their matter and meet their needs, even in a state in which you are not admitted to practice law.

Using Practical Law, you’ll be able to:

Using Westlaw, you’ll quickly find:

Assess the breach of contract complaint

Start with Practical Law to get up to speed on everything you need to know about breach of contract actions.

  • Type “Breach of Contract” into Practical Law
  • Several results appear across a variety of resource types
  • Select the “Asserting Breach of Contract Claims” Practice Note as a starting point.
    You’ll notice the “Maintained” indicator, letting you know this resource has the most up-to-date information based on today’s law and practice

Get up to speed on the elements, defenses, and available relief

Regardless of which party you represent in the action, the Asserting Breach of Contract Claims Practice Note on Practical Law sets out in plain language what you need to know about:

  • Elements
  • Defenses
  • Damages
  • Other available relief

In this case, you will find what you need to identify all possible defenses, counterclaims, and forms of relief for your client.

Familiarize yourself with New York substantive law on breach of contract actions

Drill down to jurisdiction-specific resources that set out common defenses available to a defendant when responding to a complaint that pleads breach of contract under New York common law.  

Find everything you need to know about common defenses to contract formation, contract performance, the plaintiff's ability to bring the lawsuit, and damages in a comprehensive, easy-to-read New York-specific checklist.

Use Quick Compare to assess whether to raise statute of limitations as a defense

Access Quick Compare and click on the Statute of Limitations chart.

Search for the relevant jurisdiction to find the answer with links to the primary law you can access within Westlaw.

Determine how to respond to a breach of contract claim in federal court

Once you are well versed on New York breach of contract law, the viability of plaintiff's claims, and your client's available defenses, evaluate whether a federal motion to dismiss is the best next step for your client.

The Responding to a Complaint Toolkit on Practical Law contains resources on:

  • Answering a complaint
  • Asserting counterclaims and crossclaims
  • Moving to dismiss
  • Engaging in third-party practice

Move to dismiss the breach of contract claim

Review the Motion to Dismiss Overview to determine:

  • Whether to make the motion
  • When to make it
  • The grounds on which to base the motion

Following the review of whether a federal motion to dismiss is the best next step for your client, you decide to move to dismiss the breach of contract claim. Click on the Explore Related Content icon to view other resources relevant to making a Motion to Dismiss.

Find resources to draft the motion and related documents using Knowledge Map

You want to ensure you draft the motion appropriately. There are several resources that set out step-by-step guidance to drafting, such as:

Templates with detailed drafting notes that help you customize the motion for your case, including:

Draft your response using Practical Law Standard Documents

Open the Motion to Dismiss: Memorandum of Law (Federal) in Microsoft® Word and use the Practical Law template to begin drafting right away.

Locate relevant precedents to include in your motion

Switch to Westlaw to locate precedent from the relevant jurisdictions to cite in your motion.

Find out how a judge has ruled on similar motions with Litigation Analytics

While in Westlaw, you quickly run a search for the judge assigned to your case. Using Litigation Analytics, you can see how the assigned judge may rule based on other motions to dismiss.

What if my client gets sued in New York state court?

In the event your client is sued in state court and not federal court, get the coverage you need with New York procedural litigation resources to help you draft, serve, and file your motion.

Practical Law has both substantive and procedural resources that cover several jurisdictions.

With the resources from Practical Law and Westlaw, you are now ready to file and serve your motion to dismiss. Not only have you efficiently gained the needed insight to take on your client’s matter; you’ve also met their needs and saved valuable time.

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