A party seeking to enforce a restrictive covenant must plead and prove the existence of at least one legitimate business interest justifying enforcement of the restrictive covenant. Fla. Stat. § 542.335. That same party must also “plead and prove that the contractually specified restraint is reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate business interest or interests…
Continue reading ›Florida’s statute governing restrictive covenants requires the party trying to enforce the restrictive covenant to plead and prove the existence of at least one legitimate business interest justifying enforcement of that covenant. Fla. Stat. 542.355 (“The person seeking enforcement of a restrictive covenant shall plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business…
Continue reading ›Injunction are one possible remedy in business disputes. An injunction is an equitable remedy that requires a party to perform certain acts or prohibits a party from performing certain acts. “An injunction is for the most part preventive, and cannot ordinarily be employed to correct a wrong already done or restore to a party rights…
Continue reading ›A common type of damage in business litigation is lost profits. Lost profits can be used in breach of contract cases and other business torts like tortious interference. See, e.g., Marbella Park Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. My Lawn Service, Inc.,12 So. 3d 807 (Fla. 3d DC 2009) (stating the measure of damages for breach of…
Continue reading ›A free market economic system like the one used throughout the United States requires competition because market forces of supply and demand control the system. Congress and Florida’s Legislature even enacted laws to promote competition and prevent restraints on trade and commerce. 15 U.S.C.A. § 1 (“Every contract, combination in the form of trust or…
Continue reading ›A business purchaser often requires the seller to sign a non-compete provision as part of the sale. Purchasers usually require non-compete provisions to prevent the business seller from starting a new rival business that deprives the purchaser of the value of the assert he or she purchased. The same logic applies to the business’s employees.…
Continue reading ›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 ›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…
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