Collaborate, Don't Confront: In ADR, success lies in collaboration, not confrontation. Embrace open communication, actively listen, and work together towards a solution that benefits all parties involved.
This case is a dispute between a transport company (the Claimant) and a Logistics management company (the Respondent). In this case, the respondent had engaged the services of the transport company for accessing its services in the northern regions of India for supply chain management for its client.
The contract included the pickup and delivery of raw materials from the railway depot to the factory over 3 months. The agreement included the payment of a lump sum charge and a variable charge to cover the incidental expenses, which may arise due to delays in schedule like accommodation and food for the drivers, delivery boys, etc. The agreement, though made over emails, was a very complicated affair as these expenses would be levied if the same arose due to delay from the side of the client. Emails and text messages were the medium of communication for such delays, and accounting for them was quite a task. While the respondent paid the basic amount of transportation cost, the incidental expenses were not paid for due to the lack of evidence as per their assumption.
This deal being highly dependent on the functioning of the respondent's client had many clauses which were open to interpretation. The claimant had to bear the out-of-pocket expenses and then raise an invoice for the same and the quantification of the same was in the form of emails or messages between various parties on all three sides. This made the accounting process a bit haphazard and created a disagreement.
The negotiator, in this case, painstakingly went through every communication and inspected every invoice corresponding to establishing authenticity. This case was assigned to PrivateCourt after a complete breakdown of communication between both parties. The negotiator had to now get to the bottom of the origin and destination of each communication and explain each of these to the respondent. While this unfolded, it was becoming quite evident that each claim of invoices made by the claimant had been endorsed by representatives of the respondent. Once this was done, there was no argument from the respondent's end to not make the payment. An agreement to settle the dues was reached and the following was agreed
The Respondent has agreed to pay the outstanding amount of Rs. 4,32,630/- by bank transfer to the Claimant's bank account on or before 05/09/2021. If the Respondent breaches the above-mentioned terms, then he shall be labelable to pay the entire amount from the date he received the same from the claimant along with 18% interest p.a.
At times, organisations lack the manpower and expertise required to reconcile and technically explain their stance. PrivateCourt, in this case, helped the claimant to do so, and in the process, cut losses and delay from long-drawn litigation.
