Articles Posted in Business Litigation

Florida businesses often enter into contracts that define the rights and responsibilities of the contracting parties. Each contracting party is presumed to understand the terms of the contracts that they agree to. Courts will generally enforce contracts as they are written; however, complications can arise when a party to a contract recognizes that he made…

Courts generally have discretion as to whether to grant an injunction to enforce a non-compete agreement. That discretion, however, does not allow courts to avoid enforcing a valid non-compete agreement which has been breached. Peter Mavrick is a Boca Raton non-compete attorney and business litigation attorney who has substantial experience with non-compete litigation, including injunction…

Contracts often prohibit parties from changing the contract terms unless it is in writing and signed by the parties. The purpose of this clause is to establish proof that the parties agreed to the modification of the contract. Parties will often ignore or forget about these clauses. So, when parties appear to have modified the…

Recovery of business losses for another party’s wrongful actions can often be insufficient without recovery of “lost profits.” Lost profits consist of the amount of profit a business would have earned, absent the breach of contract. Proof of lost profits must be based on evidence that is reasonably certain and not based on speculation. Proof…

Contracts often include exculpatory provisions, usually known as “limitation of liability” clauses. An exculpatory clause typically relieves one party of liability for damages they may cause to the other party during the execution of the contract. A party will usually limit its liability to the amounts it would have been paid under the contract. When…

This article is part two of a three-part series discussing how employers may successfully challenge class certification of lawsuits seeking overtime and minimum wages. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets forth a unique procedure of “collective actions,” instead of “class actions.” A collective action requires cumbersome procedures to get putative plaintiffs to join…

Florida law generally requires that a party post a “bond” before a Judge will enter an injunction order that prohibits the opposing party from competing in violation of a non-compete agreement. The purpose of requiring a bond as a condition to issuance of a temporary injunction is to provide a sufficient funds to cover the…

Florida law permits parties in litigation to issue offers of judgment and demands for judgment/proposals for settlement to their adversaries in litigation. If the opposing party accepts the offer, this will typically conclude litigation between the parties. If the opposing party refuses, and the offering party prevails by more than 25%, then the offering party…

This article is part of a three-part series discussing the ways that employers may defend against measures taken by employee-plaintiffs who sue their employers to bring in additional plaintiff-employees into the lawsuit. Part one of this series defines and distinguishes between Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions and class action claims. Part two describes…

Florida law governing non-compete agreements imposes specific requirements for a contractual “assignment” provision to be considered valid. Florida Statutes Section 542.335(1)(f)(2) requires assignment of a non-compete provision to be expressly authorized by the contract in order to be enforced by an employer’s assignees or successors. Florida courts interpret the plain meaning of the wording of…