Date
- (Name of Client)
- Company Secretary
- Radha Krishna & Co
- City, State, ZIP code
- Fax No:
-
Dear (Name):
Re: Opinion
Letter Regarding (name of employee, e.g.,
fictitious Anamika Agarwal)
After our initial meeting,
I reviewed the papers you sent me regarding the
Anamika Agarwal's matter. As I understand the
situation, Ms. Agarwal signed a written
employment agreement with your company. The
agreement stated that in the event of termination
or resignation from her job as your sales
associate, Ms. Agarwal would not call upon or
sell goods to any of your customers for a period
of one year.
You have asked me to advise
you about your rights, the chance of success, the
amount of damages that may be recoverable, the
costs involved, and my ability to represent you
in this matter.
RIGHTS OF RADHA KRISHNA
& CO AGAINST Ms. Agarwal
When Ms. Agarwal signed a
written contract with your company, she agreed
not to call upon any of your customers for a
period of one year. This is called a restrictive
covenant. To enforce your covenant against Ms.
Agarwal, you must bring an action against her and
prove your case. Since it is easier to obtain an
injunction (an action to immediately stop her
from selling to your customers) I would suggest
to file a civil suit in___ court.
I must advise you that
injunctions are largely discretionary with the
court, and there are several factors here that
might lead it not to grant one on your behalf.
Since you waited eight months before threatening
to sue Ms. Agarwal, my guess is that you have
chance of obtaining an injunction.
RIGHTS TO AND AMOUNT OF
DAMAGES
Your chances of obtaining
money damages against Ms. Agarwal are much
greater than your chances for an injunction. From
our discussion and the facts and evidence
suggested in your papers, it appears that the
amount of recoverable damages would be measured
by the profits you have lost since the time Ms.
Agarwal began selling competitive products to
your customers.
It should be understood
that if we win our case, however, Ms. Agarwal may
not voluntarily pay the judgment. Thus, it may be
necessary to enforce the judgment by having a
receiver seize and sell assets not exempt from
execution. However, if Ms. Agarwal Agarwals not
own assets, such as real estate, money in bank
accounts, stocks, etc., but owns only personal
items exempt from execution under our laws, then
any judgment you obtain may not be worth much.
NEGATIVES TO LAWSUIT
Besides the fact that you
may lose a lawsuit against Ms. Agarwal or that
any judgment obtained may be uncollectible, there
are other negative factors you should consider
before bringing a lawsuit. These include court
costs and attorney fees. Court costs are
recoverable, but other costs, such as travel, the
time lost when you are called to testify (or
required to help us develop the case), and
attorney fees, are discretionary.
MY SERVICES
I am familiar with the
nature of your manufacturing business and am
qualified to represent you in this matter if you
choose to proceed. My fee would be based on my
normal hourly charge of US$150 for myself and
US$100 for associates. Trial time is billed at
US$500 per day. The initial services of preparing
the Plaint, and serving same would cost
approximately $200. Preparing a application for
an injunction, affidavit in support and attending
a hearing on the injunction would cost
approximately US$1,500.
It is quite possible that
Ms. Agarwal would not retain her own counsel and
not answer the complaint. This means that a
default judgment could be taken without the
necessity of a trial. Here attorney fees would
probably amount to no more than US$ 600.
I require a US$1,000
retainer to open a file and commence an action.
If you wish to proceed with
this matter, I will need to know the full names
and addresses of your customers to whom Ms.
Agarwal is presently selling and the estimated
sales volume which you have lost.
If you have any questions,
please feel free to call me.
| |
Very truly yours, |
| |
Name of Attorney |
|
