Articles Posted in Business Litigation

For a trade secret to be protectable under Florida law, a business must protect that information as confidential. Disclosure of trade secret information to parties without an understanding that the information must be protected as confidential can cause that information to no longer be a protectable trade secret. In the absence of an express confidentiality…

Florida employers seeking an injunction to stop their former employees from engaging in competition in violation of a non-compete agreement must demonstrate specific criteria to a court or tribunal. Under Section 542.335, Florida Statutes, an employer must plead and prove several facts to be entitled to a temporary injunction against a former employee breaching a…

When a guarantor is sued based on an absolute guarantee of a debt, the guarantor may either challenge the validity of the guarantee or show that the guaranteed debt is not owed. Under Florida law, the guarantor can be held liable only when a court determines the guaranty is lawful and the alleged debt is…

Franchisors will often include non-compete provisions in their Franchise Agreements to protect their ability to sell new franchises in a geographic region that was formerly served by a terminated franchisee. A party seeking to enforce a non-compete agreement must plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests justifying the non-compete covenant…

Tortious interference is the intentional and unjustified interference with a relationship or contract that results in damages. However, tortious interference does not occur every time a contract or business relationship is consequentially affected. Direct interference is a necessary element of the tort (a wrongful act or an infringement of a right). Peter Mavrick is a…

Under Florida and federal law, whether a legal dispute is subject to the requirement that the parties submit to arbitration (what courts refer to as the “arbitrability” of the dispute) depends on what the wording of the arbitration agreement itself states. The parties’ intent as to what issues are to be arbitrated is typically evident…

An undefined term in a non-compete agreement creates an ambiguity in the contract, and therefore uncertainty in a court’s interpretation of the term. When a term is left undefined, Florida law requires courts to give the term its ordinary meaning. Although the terms “compete” and “line of business” may seem self-explanatory, the context in which…

For a business to be to protect its confidential information as a protectable trade secrets under the Florida Uniform Trade Secret Act, the business must preserve the secrecy of its confidential information. There are no hard and fast rules that must be followed for a business to protect its confidential information as a trade secret.…

It is a fundamental premise that ownership of a corporation is evidenced by stock certificates. However, this is not always the case with small, closely held corporations that do not sell stock on a market. Sometimes those corporations do not issue certificates. To accommodate that realty, Florida law allows for the equitable or beneficial ownership…

Protection of trade secrets and proprietary information from a business’ competitors can be a critical part of owning a company. An injunction may become necessary to stop a competing company from possessing or using those trade secrets for their own benefit. The injunction, however, must be specific enough for the enjoined party to understand what…