Letter of Intent to Sue

What is a letter of intention to sue and what are the contents needed to be included to draft a letter before legal action.

My neighbour has negligently burned my hedges during a weekend barbeque with his friends and I am furious. I want him to pay for his actions and bring him to court. But is this really the best and only way to settle a dispute?

Of course not!

Negotiations between parties would be the first and easiest procedure to resolve conflicts. Parties can come up with negotiations like compensating a sum of money to the aggrieved party, or even to start or stop doing something that might have contributed to the conflict. If parties are unable to come up with terms both of them are willing to agree on, mediation, conciliation and arbitration are some of the methods open for parties to resolve their disputes without having to undergo the formal and time-consuming process of going to court to settle a claim.

However, there are instances in which these methods are unable to satisfy the interest of the parties and only the courts are in the position to settle the dispute. Therefore, if the claimant has exhausted all of the possible methods as seen above and wants to bring a legal claim against the defendant before the court, a letter of intent to sue is needed to be drafted beforehand.

What is a letter of intent to sue?

A letter of intent to sue is used to notify a potential defendant that a lawsuit may be filed against

them in court. Delivery of this notice is often required by law and may need to be sent via certified mail before initiating the filing process. Regardless of any legal necessity for delivery, the form should still be issued to the defendant to help achieve a mutual agreement between each party and prevent a costly lawsuit.

Sample - Letter of Intent to Sue (PDF form)

Letter-of-Intent-to-Sue.pdf

Download PDF • 69KB

After looking at the template of a letter of intent to sue, let us take a look at how it is actually written. In this case, Aaron Smith will be the claimant and Beth Halloway will be the defendant. The dispute concerns hedges that have been negligently burnt by Beth.

Sample – Letter of Intent to Sue (Written Document)

LETTER OF INTENT TO SUE

Alfred & Partner Law Firm - [Name of the Law firm representing the claimant] 150 Main Street, Tampa, FL 33606 - [Address of the Law firm] 1(888) 4000400 www.alfredandpartnerlawfirm.com - [E-mail address of the Law firm]

Effective Date: October 1, 2019 - [Date in which the letter of intent to sue is initiated]

RE: Notice of Intent to File Lawsuit - [Subject]

Dear Mrs. Beth Halloway, - [Addressing the defendant]

This letter of intent to sue shall serve as a formal notice that Mr. Aaron Smith intends to commence a lawsuit against you due to the following: Negligent burning of hedges located at the at the rear of his home at 123 Fake Ave., Capital City. - [Summarize account of the alleged unlawful act]

I. The Plaintiff. Aaron Smith - [Plaintiff of the case]

II. The Defendant. Beth Halloway - [Defendant of the case]

III. Settlement Demand. As a result of your actions, the Plaintiff seeks relief in the form of a payment in the amount of one hundred pounds (£100) which shall be used by the Plaintiff to replace the hedges. - [Settlement Demand (optional) A request made to the defendant in order to avoid a lawsuit]

This offer to cure and/or settle this matter outside of court and avoid a lawsuit is valid for 30 days from the Effective Date. - [Given time frame in which the defendant may settle the matter to avoid legal proceedings]

V. Governing Law. This Letter of Intent shall be governed under the laws of the State of Florida.

Sincerely,

Alfred Eng.

---

Please take note that the samples given above are meant for educational purposes and the template attached above is not to be reproduced in any way without expressed permission given by Alfred's Blog. Alfred Eng will not be liable for any mistakes and legal liability arising from the usage of legal materials published from this site.