Articles Posted in Business Litigation

Employees owe their current employers a duty of loyalty under Florida law. This duty of loyalty is a specific fiduciary duty that requires employees to act in the best interest of their current employers. One example of such a breach is where an employee who starts a competing business while still working for the employer.…

A prevalent issue in Florida trade secret litigation is whether an employer adequately protected its trade secrets and confidential information. To qualify for protection under Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“FUTSA”) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), an employer must show that it adequately maintained the secrecy of its trade secrets and confidential…

A prevalent issue in business litigation is whether a party’s fraud claims are prohibited by an integration clause in a contract. Contracts typically include integration clauses to prevent contracting parties from later asserting claims based on oral statements that were not also expressed in the contract. Integration clauses or “merger” clauses can therefore effectively limit…

Business litigation often involves contractual disputes and related fraud claims arising between parties. In Florida, contracting parties are generally prohibited from using a contract to limit liability for fraudulent acts. This general prohibition exists because contracting parties are entitled to rely on each other’s representations before entering a contract. However, there is an exception to…

A compilation of a business’ customer information can qualify as a trade secret under Florida and Federal law. This trade secret protection extends further than just a business’ list of customers. A business’ cognizable trade secrets can include a different elements of customer information that are compiled in the aggregate and protected by business. The…

The enforceability of arbitration provisions is a prevalent issue in business litigation involving disputes arising from commercial contracts. Arbitration provisions are not always enforceable under Florida law. Under Florida law, the arbitration provision must provide litigants with the same legal remedies that are otherwise available to them in civil litigation. To enforce an arbitration agreement…

Florida appellate courts regularly scrutinize the methodology used by financial experts in their calculation of lost profits. Parties are often incentivized to inflate their calculation of lost profits they seek. Expert witnesses who specialize in damages calculations sometimes testify at trial using damages methodologies that misconstrue the requirements of Florida law. For example, in State…

Under federal law, trademark infringement is proscribed by 15 U.S. C. § 1114(1)(a), which prohibits any person from the “use in commerce [of] any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of any goods or services on or in connection with…

Commercial contracts often contain dispute resolution provisions requiring the contracting parties to resolve all claims arising between them through arbitration. However, arbitration provisions are not automatically valid and enforceable under Florida law. The arbitration provision must provide the potential claimants with the same legal remedies that are otherwise available to them in civil litigation. “Although…

The recent appellate decision from Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in Capital Wealth Advisors, LLC v. Capital Wealth Advisors, Inc., 2021 WL 4898462 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021), clarified whether a business can get out of a financially unfavorable contract on the grounds that its “lopsidedness or open-endedness” is an invalid restraint on trade or…