Introduction
In our lives, many occasions will arise when we need to be involved in unwanted litigation. Some of these we also face. Most of the disputes start after sending a legal notice. Such disputes may vary and depend on the event. In this way, initially, you have to inform the opposite party or person by sending a legal notice before taking legal action against them. Such type of notice will be issued in specific terms of laws. However, the content of the legal notice might be different as per the occasion. In this article, we discuss what a legal notice is, how to send a legal notice, the Significance of a Legal Notice, that is, the importance of a legal notice, etc., so please stay tuned and read in detail below;
What is a legal notice in terms of the law?
Before we know about a legal notice, we first have to know the actual meaning of a legal notice. In simple words, we can say that a legal notice is a kind of written document that is sent by an affected party to other parties according to the subject matter of the grievance. In the notice, the sender has to specify his grievance and warn the receiver of his misconduct. In that way, the receiver also has an opportunity to represent his side by sending an answer to the legal notice or resolving the dispute.
The legal notice can be treated as a formal document that is sent by a party with their grievance to another party. By sending a legal notice, the aggrieved party communicates and warns the other party who tries to harm any legal rights of the aggrieved party. Through sending a notice, a sender informs the receiver regarding his grievance and allows compliance with the conditions that are the cause of the dispute.
When do you need to send a legal notice?
There are many circumstances that have to arise when we need to take some legal action against anyone. In that way, before starting litigation with the other party, we must file a legal notice against them. Sometimes, you need to file a legal notice for recovery of money, Cheque Bounce Notice, In that situation, sending a legal notice must be required in order to sort out the dispute. There are some other aspects that are required to be fulfilled by sending the notice, which are given below;
- A party can send a legal notice if they become a victim of mistreatment, fraud, or deception. In that situation, the sender of the notice can demand that person who has responsibility for that event which is mentioned in the notice, demand compensation or loss.
- If a party felt that he was wrongly evicted from the house, in that situation, protecting his legal right can demand the house owner to take legal action against this illegal action.
- If a party suffers any harassment or discrimination by another party, in that case, the suffering party can send a legal notice against that party.
Importance of sending a legal notice
- A sender can inform the receiver of his grievance as per the subject matter of the dispute to be resolved. Otherwise, he might file litigation against him.
- In that way, the receiver has an opportunity to resolve a dispute without reaching the court.
- The sender of the notice and the receiver will both be aware of the dispute. That makes a positive sign to resolving both parties can settle their legal issues via alternative dispute resolution.
- It is beneficial for both parties to save money and time.
The procedure that you need to follow while sending a legal notice
Some of the basic requirements that you need to follow while deciding to send a legal notice are given below;
Step 1
The first step is to meet a lawyer who has a good ability to understand your legal aspect and has good drafting skills. There is no bar to sending a legal notice in the regional language in India, but the English language is preferable because it is commonly readable in any region. Such a notice should be sent to the person with whom your legal dispute is with.
Step 2
During the consultation with a lawyer, you must inform every detail of the subject matter, for example, the name and address of the party, what kind of issues arose with them, etc.
Step 3
The lawyer studies all information that is given by you and can ask for further relevant aspects regarding the subject matter. In this way, he collects all information for legal purposes.
Step 4
After collecting all the basic information from your side, the lawyer makes a draft of a legal notice in legal terms. Here, he clearly specifies the reason for sending a legal notice on behalf of his client. He mentions all previous communication between his client and the receiver in different clauses in the notice. He also offers what they give to a particular time for sort-out the matter via negotiation with his client (for example, 10 days or 30 days). Or after the expiry of that period, he may take legal action on behalf of his client. Or he may also ask for a show cause from the receiver.
Step 5
The notice is served on the addressee by a registered AD, with the signature of the advocate and client. A copy of that notice and the acknowledgement slip of registered AD must be kept by the lawyer for reference purposes. The above steps are basically followed while sending a legal notice in India.
What do you need to do while receiving a legal notice?
Sometimes it happens that for any reason, we receive a legal notice from someone else. At that time, we need some precautions, which are given below;
- First, you need to read it carefully; what conduct of yours is mentioned by the sender? You can directly call the sender and fairly discuss the subject matter and try to resolve it.
- If you think it fits that there is vague notice which is received by you, then you need to contest it. For that purpose, contact a lawyer and take advice for that.
- You can tell your lawyer about the facts of the legal notice. What grievance mention against you and which event occurred at that time, and which fact that you know in real?
- You can reply to such a notice through your lawyer to mention all facts and clarifications from your side.
- If you believe that there is no cause of action that arises against you, and the sender is trying to ruin your reputation. In that case, you may send a counter-legal notice along with a reply to his notice.
- After sending a counter-notice, you can give the addressee an offer to recall the notice within a specific number of days (i.e., 10 days, 20 days). Otherwise, on that basis, you can file legal action against the sender for his misconduct in issuing that notice.
Format of legal notice
There is no particular straitjacket formula to send a legal notice. However, for preparing a legal draft of the notice, you need some particular clauses to be mentioned, which are given below;
- Describe the full name and address of the sender
- The facts behind the contention of the notice
- Main Grievance and Reason for Sending a Notice
- The reliefs that the sender wants to claim from the addressee
- Signatures and date of the sender and advocate.
Conclusion
A legal notice is a formal communication between one party and another party to inform them about a grievance and, on that basis, the sender might take legal action against the receiver. In all cases, there is no mandatory requirement to send a legal notice before taking legal action. However, the most crucial factor of sending a legal notice is that the sender and receiver can easily resolve their disputes before reaching a court, and they can save valuable time and money. In some cases, sending a notice is required before taking legal action; at that time, it is considered an essential document for legal proceedings.
