legal notice

Introduction

A legal notice is a document is sent to the person to whom you are about file legal proceedings in the matters with whom you are not legally satisfied with that person. For the all the legal litigations and matters such legal notice has to be sent as the first step to the legal proceedings. Such notice can be drafted on the plain paper.

All forms of formal communication have a pre-planned arrangement which every person who indulges in it, has to follow. This pre-planned arrangement is known as a format. Legal Notice is one such type of formal communication which has its own format which details how and what information needs to be provided in the notice.

Sometimes without going through the long-drawn process of the litigation it is possible to resolve the matter through a mere legal notice. By sending a legal notice helps in most of the cases by resolving the actual dispute or issue with the clear intention of filing a lawsuit against the other party, consequently the other party opts for a settlement or resolving the legal issue to escape liability or damages in an amicable manner. A persons’ grievances can be easily described in a legal notice

A “Legal Notice” is the legal intimation sent by the person aggrieved to the opponent indicating his/her intention to file a lawsuit against the concern in case of the demand mentioned in the relevant notice is not being fulfilled.

Legal Notice Meaning

A legal notice is a formal written communication between the parties. Through a legal notice, the sender notifies the recipient about his intention of undertaking legal proceedings against the latter. A legal notice also helps in making the receiving party aware of the grievances of the sender.

It works as a last warning to the receiver to fulfil a certain condition if he does not want a court battle.

It is used in a wide variety of situations:

In Consumer Forums: In case, a faulty product or service is provided to a person he or she can send a legal notice to the concerned person and ask him to rectify the deficiencies.
Disputes related to property such as partition, eviction or issues relating to possession of the property.
Loan Defaulters: Under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act), the debt recovery proceedings begin by sending a legal notice to the defaulters.
Cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act: In case of dishonour of cheque, the aggrieved can send a legal notice for recovery of payment.
Money Recovery Cases: The first step in money recovery cases is sending a legal notice to the concerned person.
Employee and Employer/Company: If the employer in any way deprives the employees of their salary, then the employee can send a legal notice to the employer.

When a legal Notice is sent?

A legal notice is issued generally by an advocate appointed by the person aggrieved on behalf of his or her client for the purpose of soliciting a settlement.

There are various reasons for which legal notice can be sent to a person or a legal entity, following are the most common reasons for which legal notice may be sent :-

Property related issues or disputes like mortgage
Delay in possession of the house delivery by the builder
Eviction of the tenant on the unreasonable grounds
Partition of family, the property, etc.
Notice for terminating employees wrongfully or unpaid salary to the employer
Violation of the rights of employees by the employer etc
Notice for violation of the Human Resource policies or committing sexual harassment at workplace or leaving the job without dropping the resignation letter or violation of any provision of the employment agreement etc to any employee
Notice to any company engaged in manufacturing or providing services of contaminated/low standard quality product or negligent services or fraudulent advertisement etc.
In case of cheque bounce notice is issued to the issuer of the cheque.
Notice may be sent in case of personal conflicts for instance divorce or the child custody or division of maternal property etc.

Advantages of Sending The Legal Notice

1.Providing a fair and reasonable chance-Legal notice is one of the important parts of the adjudication process which provides a fair & reasonable chance to settle the issues or the disputed points and to intimate the same to the parties of the legal action.

2.A Stitch in Time-A well-crafted legal notice can sometimes resolve issues without the need for lengthy court battles.

3.Legal Leverage-It puts you in a stronger position if the issue does go to court. You can showcase that you’ve exhausted all reasonable avenues for resolution.

4.Reaching at Common consensus-Sending a legal notice provides a chance to both the parties to reach a common decision. It enables them to put forward their grievances and complaints.

Contents of The Legal Notice

Name, description and the residential address of the sender
Name & address of the person to whom legal notice is issued
Material facts
Cause of Action or Summary of the fact
No Minimum Capital requirement.
Signature of Lawyer and his/her Client is a must.
Reasonable time for replying the notice by a receiver

FAQ's On Legal Notice

Q: Is a legal notice legally binding?

A: A legal notice itself is not legally binding, but it sets the stage for future legal action if necessary.

Q: What happens if the other party ignores the legal notice?

A: Ignoring a legal notice may result in further legal proceedings, depending on the nature of the dispute.

Q:Is serving of legal notice mandatory?

As stated in Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 it is mandatory to serve a legal notice to the opponent before the filing of a lawsuit if such opposite party is Government or Public officer.

Generally, a legal notice is served before the filing of all the Civil cases. Though, it is not mandatory to serve a legal notice in all the civil cases except in case of Government or Public officer.

Q:By which medium legal notices are to be sent?

The legal notices are sent with the help of registered post or through speed post and courier services. The legal notice may also be sent by the electronic medium i.e. e-mail however it is advised to send the same by registered post or through speed post and courier services.

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