A business that is unsure about its contractual rights may be able to assert a claim for declaratory judgment. Under Florida Statute § 86.011, courts may “render declaratory judgments on the existence, or nonexistence: (1) of any immunity, power, privilege or right; (2) of any fact upon which the existence of nonexistence of such immunity,…
Continue reading ›Under Florida law, employees have a duty of loyalty to their employers. The breadth of the duty of loyalty depends on whether the employee qualifies as a fiduciary under the law. High level employees, such as corporate officers and directors, hold a strict fiduciary duty of loyalty to a corporation. The fiduciary duty of loyalty…
Continue reading ›A constructive trust can be a useful remedy in certain business disputes in Florida. If property is wrongfully taken from a business, the remedy of constructive trust can make the person holding the property the “constructive trustee” for the property. Constructive trust is an equitable remedy “with the dual objectives of restoring property to its…
Continue reading ›The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires employers to pay employees an overtime rate of 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week. The FLSA sets out a number of exemptions to the overtime pay requirement for certain types of employees. Some of the most common…
Continue reading ›According to the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA), business information must be secret to qualify as a trade secret. FUTSA defines trade secrets as “information . . . that [d]erives independent economic value from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic…
Continue reading ›Businesses often rely on restrictive covenants to protect their sensitive business information and to protect themselves from unfair competition. Businesses often require employees to sign non-compete agreements and employee confidentiality agreements to accomplish these goals. Businesses also often include similar provisions when they purchase all or part of another business. A purchaser will include…
Continue reading ›The defenses of unclean hands and in pari delicto are useful in commercial and business disputes. These are similar defenses that arise when the party bringing the lawsuit possesses a level of fault or guilt. Unclean hands and in pari delicto can be applied in business disputes under certain circumstances to prevent an actor from…
Continue reading ›A cause of action for replevin is a valuable tool to recover property that is wrongfully retained by another. For businesses, replevin can be useful in recovering company property that a former employee or business partner wrongfully possesses and refuses to return. “[R]eplevin is a possessory statutory action at law in which the main issue…
Continue reading ›An employer should take care to understand its legal responsibilities if it has a pregnant employee because several laws prevent an employer from discriminating against that employee. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) prohibit employers from discriminating against pregnant employees. The Americans with…
Continue reading ›It is common for businesses to enter into vendor-customer relationships with other business. One business might regularly purchase a product or service with another business. In exchange, the vendor will periodically invoice the customer for the product or service. If the customer stops paying the invoices, or otherwise accumulates a large debt in arrears, Florida…
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