Articles Posted in Business Litigation

The parol evidence rule is a substantive rule of law that limits the introduction of evidence to interpret the meaning of a contractual provision. King v. Bray, 867 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (“The parol-evidence rule is a substantive rule of law and… provides that a written document intended by the parties to…

Restrictive covenants like non-compete agreements and non-solicit agreements are valid if supported by one or more legitimate business interests. Fla. Stat. § 542.335. Those legitimate business interests often include the protection of trade secrets, valuable information that does not qualify as trade secret, existing customers, or future prospective customers. Id. However, legitimate business interests can…

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Wiand v. ATC Brokers Ltd., 96 F.4th 1303 (11th Cir. 2024), recently issued an opinion regarding a receiver’s standing to assert fraudulent transfer claims and other torts on behalf of the entity it is overseeing. To understand this new appellate decision, it is necessary…

Under an earlier version of Florida law concerning negligence claims, the doctrine of “joint and several liability” held that all tortfeasors were responsible for the total amount of the plaintiff’s injury regardless of the defendant’s individual fault giving rise to the accident. Gouty v. Schnepel, 795 So.2d 959 (Fla. 2001) (“All negligent defendants [are] held…

A party seeking to enforce a restrictive covenant must plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests. Fla. Stat. § 542.335. The proponent typically claims to have a legitimate business interest in its trade secrets, valuable confidential information that otherwise does not qualify as a trade secret, substantial relationships with specific…

Agents are empowered to bind their principals to certain actions taken by the agents. 2 Fla. Jur. 2d Agency & Employment § 54 (2015). Agency relationships can form by written consent, oral consent, or implication from the parties’ conduct. Osorio v. State Farm Bank, F.S.B. 746 F. 3d 1242 (11th Cir. 2014). Principals empower their…

A fiduciary relationship exists when an individual must act in the interests of another. Watkins v. NCNB Nat’l Bank of Fla., N.A., 622 So.2d 1063 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1993) (“To establish a fiduciary relationship, a party must allege some degree of dependency on one side and some degree of undertaking on the other side to…

The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, at 18 U.S.C. sections 1829(3) and (5), broadly defines trade secret misappropriation to include cases of improper use, disclosure, or acquisition of a trade secret. Under the federal trade secret statute, at 18 U.S.C. section 1839(3)(B), states that trade secret information “derives [its] independent economic value, actual or potential,…

Sometimes litigants are asked to disclose trade secret information during the course of a lawsuit. These litigants usually object claiming the privilege of trade secret. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. § 90.506 (“A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent other persons from disclosing, a trade secret owned by that person if…

A trade mark is any word, name, symbol, or device, that is used by a person to identify and distinguish his or her goods from a competitor’s goods. 15 U.S.C.A. § 1127. Registering a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office constitutes prima facie evidence that the trademark is valid and provides constructive…