As an attorney, I would rarely recommend a business, whether it is a sole proprietorship, corporation, or limited liability company (LLC) represent itself in a legal dispute. It is vital that you speak with a Summit business law attorney for legal advice regarding your business’ specific situation. However, the information presented below is helpful for general consideration.
In my experience, when a business is in the middle of a multi-million dollar dispute, they will spare no expense in pursuing or defending the claim. These types of claims tend to be atypical.
Far more common are smaller disputes in the four to five figure range where the business does not believe it is economical to retain counsel.
With few exceptions, unless the business is a sole proprietorship, the State of New Jersey REQUIRES a business to be represented in court by an attorney.
NJ Court Rule 1:21-1(c) prohibits, a business entity other than a sole propriety from appearing or filing any paper “…in any action in any court of this State except through an attorney authorized to practice law in this State.” Therefore, corporations must be represented in court by counsel. See Globe Media Grp., LLC v. Cisneros, 403 N.J. Super. 574, 577 (App. Div. 2008); Olympic Indus. Park v. P.L., Inc., 208 N.J. Super. 577, 580-81 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 104 N.J. 453, 517 (1986). Rule 1:21(c) extends to all legal proceedings and, as such, requires corporations to be represented by counsel at mediations as well.
The most common exception is a small claims action. NJ Court Rule 6:11 provides that “any authorized officer or employee may prosecute and defend on behalf of a party which is a business entity, whether formally incorporated or not...” In other words, generally speaking, a business can represent itself in a small claims matter. (under $3,000.00)
These rules should not be taken lightly. In my experience, businesses will frequently attempt to file a Complaint or Answer pro se (Pro se is a Latin term that means “on one’s own behalf.”) only to have it rejected by the courts. A rejected Answer can become especially problematic for a business because there are deadlines to respond to a Complaint. It is not uncommon that by the time the business learns the court rejected its Answer, the time to respond has expired. Now the business is in default and susceptible to a judgment.
Contact the Adam Brown Law Group, LLC for an initial consultation about how to your legal issue. Call us to request yours at (908) 379-9731 or send us a message through our secure contact form.