Litigation takes place before court. It isn’t like arbitration or mediation, but it is when the two parties merely try to figure out things before going to a court. Litigation can be great when the details of something are really murky, and neither party thinks that the problem is worth going to court for, although it still needs to be solved. Litigation seems like it occurs most frequently when companies are going back and forth on something, yet still want to maintain a business relationship. The companies are probably good enough associates that neither wants to take the other to court. They just want whatever is in conflict solved quickly and cheaply.