Complex Business Litigation

Commercial litigation is rarely just about winning a legal argument. A lawsuit can tie up management, strain relationships with customers and vendors, and consume resources that should be building the company. Mark A. Fantin approaches every business dispute with that reality in mind. He evaluates the legal merits, the likely cost, the exposure and the practical alternatives, and then gives clients a clear recommendation about how to proceed.

Mark has litigated commercial cases for more than twenty years in the New Jersey Superior Court, the federal courts in New Jersey and New York, and on appeal. His practice is deliberately focused on business matters, which means he spends his time on the contract, tort and corporate issues that actually arise between companies rather than on unrelated areas of law.

Mark represents plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of business disputes, including:

• Breach of contract, including supply, distribution, services, construction and commercial lease agreements
• Breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
• Fraud, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation and consumer fraud claims between businesses
• Business torts such as tortious interference with contract or prospective economic advantage and unfair competition
• Disputes arising from the purchase or sale of a business, including earn-outs, indemnification and representations and warranties
• Commercial real estate and landlord-tenant litigation, including lease defaults, holdovers and build-out disputes
• Franchise and license agreement disputes, including terminations and non-renewals
• Enforcement and defense of non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements
• Collection of significant commercial debts and defense of collection actions
• Emergent applications for temporary restraints and preliminary injunctions

New Jersey assigns many larger commercial cases to its Complex Business Litigation Program, a specialized track in the Superior Court for business disputes that generally involve $200,000 or more in controversy or raise complex commercial issues. Cases in the program are managed by judges who focus on business matters and who regularly publish written opinions on contract interpretation, fiduciary duties, discovery disputes and damages.

Mark monitors those decisions closely. This site publishes his ongoing analysis of new opinions from the program so that clients and colleagues can see how New Jersey business courts are actually deciding the issues that matter. That current knowledge shapes how he pleads a case, frames a motion and advises a client on the likely outcome.

Every engagement starts with an honest assessment. Mark reviews the contracts, the correspondence and the numbers, identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each side, and explains the realistic range of outcomes. From there, the strategy may involve a demand letter and negotiation, early mediation, an emergent motion to preserve the status quo, or a fully litigated case through discovery, summary judgment and trial.

Because Mark also counsels businesses on contracts and transactions, he brings a transactional lawyer’s eye to disputes. He understands what the parties were trying to accomplish when they signed the agreement, which often matters a great deal when a court is asked to interpret it.

Mark practices from Montclair in Essex County and represents businesses and owners throughout New Jersey, including Morris, Bergen, Union, Passaic, Hudson, Somerset and Middlesex counties, as well as clients in the New York metropolitan area.