What is a Legal Notice?
A legal notice is a form of communication that is usually sent by one party regarding actions that will or are required to take place. It can also refer to how an official announcement is published to convey specific information to the public. Private parties often send legal notices to inform the other parties of planned or ongoing actions relating to a matter. They can also be issued by public authorities to provide information to citizens.
In the context of contractual agreements, the legal notice describes how the involved parties will be notified of specific actions, like a violation of contract terms . A legal notice can also be sent to demand compensation, provide information about a judicial remedy, or disclose an intention to file a complaint with the appropriate court. When such a notice is sent, the recipient has a fixed period in which they must comply with the demand or face requested legal action.
Legal notices can also issue information about a dispute to the public, letting them know that an issue exists and that it is being pursued through legal channels. Such notices could announce that a company plans to accept new clients, or they could be public declarations of intent to hire new workers.
Demand Notice
Demand notices are used when an individual or entity believes that their legal rights have been violated and they want to pursue some sort of legal action. A demand notice can be a simple letter demanding your rights or money, or a notice from a lawyer stating that if certain named violations are not remedied by a certain date, lawsuits will be brought against the recipient. Demand notices generally contain:
A demand for the payment of money or for a certain act to be performed.
A statement of the act done by the entity sending the notice and what laws were broken, if any. In some cases, it may state the specific sections of the law that were violated.
A demand that the recipient cease and desist further violations. This is often called a "cease and desist" letter.
Warning of future legal action if the recipient does not comply with the demands of the sender.
A policy of these notices is that they almost always seek to avoid litigation to the extent the parties can reach a settlement. As such, companies do not normally admit or deny liability by issuing them. Recipients of a demand notice are often advised to consult a lawyer before taking further action. While there is no set remedy for a recipient of this type of notice, often a public apology or an agreement between the parties will suffice.
Eviction Notice
If you have entered into a contract for renting a house, you will have notice period before leaving the house. Therefore, if the landlord wishes your tenancy agreement to come to an end he/she must serve you with an eviction notice. This notice must be given in writing and must be written in the same language in which the lease agreement was originally written. This document must inform you when the notice was served, when the notice was delivered to you, when it is due to come into force and give you details of your legal rights. If the tenant has not breached the lease agreement then the landlord must serve a two month written eviction notice; however, landlords may apply to courts to reduce this notice period. On receiving this notice, the tenant must vacate the premises by specified date as failing to do so leaves him/her open to court proceedings. A landlord cannot evict a tenant without a court order.
Cease and Desist Notice
Cease and Desist Notices
A cease and desist notice is a letter or e-mail, sent by one party to another warning him or her to abstain from a given action or to abstain from committing a wrongful act (e.g., a violation of law, a breach of a contract, infringement of intellectual property rights, etc.). Cease and desist notices can be used to prevent unlawful activity or to put wrongdoers on notice of their unlawful actions and to provide an opportunity to stop the same before seeking court remedies.
Typical examples of cease and desist notices include notices sent to web site owners who have posted articles on their websites or blogs without the consent of the authors of those articles but who falsely claim that those articles were written by them. A cease and desist notice is also typically sent to web sites that post infringing images or photographs of artists, designers, photographers or illustrators. Many use cease and desist notices to stop trademark infringement or unauthorized use and adoption of corporate names. A cease and desist notice can also be used to stop a defamation or disparagement.
Notice of Default
Lenders and business owners can, under most financial agreements, terminate the agreement if a party to the agreement is not complying with it. The party who is not complying with the agreement is here referred to as the defaulting party.
The financial agreement or loan agreement will contain details of the circumstances in which the lender can terminate the agreement. Most agreements today require the lender to send a letter to the defaulting party notifying it that the agreement will terminate if the defaulting party does not remedy the breach of the agreement by paying any amounts due under the agreement and taking those further steps necessary to remedy the breach within a specified period (typically 7 or 14 days) .
If a dispute arises between the parties regarding the right of the lender to terminate the agreement and/or the defaulting party’s compliance with that obligation, the lender does in practice need to give 7 or 14 days’ notice in order to determine whether the defaulting party is in breach of the agreement. This notice is commonly referred to as the default notice.
If the defaulting party fails to remedy the breach of the financial or loan agreement within the time period required in the default notice, the lender can cancel the agreement by notice to the defaulting party. This will entitle the lender to accelerate payment of all outstanding amounts, which may include repayment of the amounts loaned (within a reasonable time) and all costs incurred by lender in enforcing the agreement.
Termination of Contract Notice
A notice of the termination of a contract is a communication from either of the parties to the contract notifying of the end of the contract. There can be various reasons for the termination of a contract. Contract termination can, in many cases, be invoked as a defense by virtue of the breach of contract by one of the parties. A notice of termination by either of the parties to a contract protects them from being liable for any performance that might otherwise be required of them under the contract after they have terminated the agreement.
The process for the issuance of a notice of termination would comply with the procedure as laid down in the contract itself, if any. In all absence, the contract may be terminated by giving the notice as required by law or as per the requirements of an implied termination. For the most part, verbal notices, however, are not sufficient for the termination of a contract unless the contract requires notifications to be verbal. For a notice to be effective, it must consist of the date, the name and address of the party giving the notice, a statement of the occurrence of the certain event which is being treated as a termination of the contract and the termination date. It is recommended that the notice be written in clear and simple terms and that all the essential elements be included within the notice. Further, the notice must be sent by a method likely to be received by the party to whom it is given. Notice can be given to the representative, if any, of the party as well.
Legal Notice Format and Reply
Generally speaking the body of a legal notice will contain factual information about the alleged infringing use or other activity. The notice also typically includes a request directed to the recipient for their response and/or a demand that they cease and reverse course with respect to the alleged infringement.
It is exceedingly important that the recipient respond directly to the party issuing the notice within any timeframe set forth in the notice. If no such timeframe is set forth, a response is still typically required as soon as possible. Even where there is a dispute over the factual accuracy or legal merit of the allegations upon which the notice is based, any failure to respond may be concluded by a court to constitute an express and ongoing admission of the truth of the allegations.
Further, the failure to respond to a legal notice designed to warn of infringement can have important ramifications. For example, a court may conclude that the infringer bears responsibility for any and all damages for infringement of the underlying copyright or patent even during claim construction and summary judgment phases of trial where the defendant’s own product is not on the market and there is no demonstrable market impact of the defendant’s activity on any specific third party’s product.
In short, it is very highly recommended that any legal notice, however offensive or overreaching, be taken seriously.
Conclusion on Proper Legal Procedure
It is of the utmost importance, whether you are an employer or an employee, that you know in advance the type of legal notice that is required by the law for your particular circumstances. It is similarly crucial that you give any required notices completely and accurately, in the proper manner, either separately or together with other notices as allowed by the law. Any employer or company that fails to issue a legally required notice or provides a notice that violates the law or omits required information is liable to those who may have been injured as a result . They may be liable for the full amount of damages for which the employee may sue or for all financial losses suffered by an employee who should have received a strongly worded notice but did not. Employees whose employers have provided one or more defective notices may be deprived of opportunities including employment in a different job that requires travel or relocation; out of town pay raises or bonuses; relocation assistance; and so on, up to and including excessive legal liability.