Legal Notice – A Forewarning That May Lead To Amicable Settlement
A legal notice refers to a formal written communication of the intended legal actions against a person, a company, or a legally acknowledged person (i.e. legal entities). The legal notices are served when a person fails to adhere to certain requirements or performs any action that is not allowed/agreed (e.g. legal infringement of rights). Normally, legal notices can be sent either electronically (e.g: e-Mails, messages, etc.) or physically (e.g.: Letters, posters, etc.), before initiating the suits.
In India, the requirements relating to legal notice are governed by Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This law mandates that a legal notice be sent before initiating the legal proceedings. Most of the time, cases that are civil in nature require prior notice, while the criminal proceedings do not warrant a legal notice, since these types of cases are initiated by the state that has supreme power, against a person or entity.
Cases and Requirements:
The civil cases of the following nature require, but not limited to matrimonial cases that are civil in nature (e.g.: divorce proceedings), property/asset related cases (e.g. partition, eviction, possession, etc.), employee/employer related disputes (e.g. salary-related issues, breach of NDA, etc.), dishonor of cheques or other payment instruments, breach of contracts, consumer cases, debt-recovery related disputes, etc.
Vital details related to legal notices:
- Nature of the grievance
- Facts related to the grievance
- Evidence associated with the grievance
- Potential remedies/reliefs associated with them
- Statements of the associated laws
- Remedies/actions in case of failure to reply within a stipulated time
The following requirements constitute a perfect legal notice:
- Name, address, and communication details of the parties involved
- Date, time, and other particulars of the grievance caused
- Notice drafted in the lawyer’s letterhead
- Signature of the sender as well as the lawyer
Care must be taken that the notices must be clear, concise, and particularly describe the issues and drafted in such a way that the language / legal language used, is easy to be understood by all the concerned parties. Also, it is to be ensured that the legal notice is duly served to the concerned party. Hence, it is always better to send the notices through registered post or any other mechanisms that can ensure the safe delivery of legal notices, which is vital.
Importance of Legal Notices:
Being a forewarning communication, the legal notices offer a chance to the other party to explain his side of the dispute and prepare himself for the litigation beforehand, which is a vital principle of the Indian Judicial system. Also, the courts are flooded with cases these days, which might drag the cases/litigations for a longer period of time and render them costlier. Hence, the notices might offer an easier and economical way of resolving the disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms.
Our team from IPLF comprises highly skilled and trained legal professionals to assist in the drafting of various types of legal notices in a presentable way, which makes the receiver to understand and resolve the disputes amicably.
Author: Govindhaswamy Srinivasan, a Principal Associate – Patents at Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys. In case of any queries please contact/write back to us at support@ipandlegalfilings.com
