Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

A party can recover lost profit damages as direct damages or consequential damages. Lost profits, like all damages, are considered direct when they flow directly and immediately from the contractual breach. HCA Health Services of Florida, Inc. v. CyberKnife Ctr. of Treasure Coast, LLC, 204 So. 3d 469 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). Lost profits are…

Plaintiffs commonly pursue punitive damages when asserting fraud claims. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish unlawful conduct. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Brewer, 191 So. 3d 508 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). They are available when a defendant commits intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Fla. Stat. § 768.72. Punitive damages are especially…

Under Florida law, enforcement of a non-compete agreement requires requires proof of at least one “legitimate business interest.” Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (“The person seeking enforcement of a restrictive covenant shall plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests justifying the restrictive covenant.”). A failure to plead or prove the existence…

Many business contracts contain arbitration provisions, which often creates a question as to whether the contracting parties must resolve their dispute in arbitration. Florida courts consider three elements when determining whether to enforce a contractual arbitration provision. They are (1) whether a valid written agreement to arbitrate exists; (2) whether an arbitrable issue exists; and…

Florida and federal statutes generally define a “trade secret” to be information that the owner takes reasonable measures to keep secret and the information derives “independent economic value” from not being generally known to others. Courts ordinarily view the existence of a trade secret as a question of fact. The United States Court of Appeals…

The Florida Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“FUFTA”) is a powerful tool because it provides creditors with remedies against debtors attempting to conceal assets. Through FUFTA, Florida adopted a Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act that many states adopted. FUFTA allows creditors to sue debtors trying to avoid paying a debt. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale business…

Liquidated damages are determinable with exactness from the cause of action as pleaded by a mathematical calculation or by application of a rule of law. Boulos v. Yung Sheng Xiamen Yong Chem. Indus. Co., 855 So.2d 665 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). Many contracts contain a liquidated damage provision that attempts to ascribe an automatic amount…

A third-party can enforce a contract even though it is not a party to that contract if the contracting parties expressly intended to primarily and directly benefit the third-party. Bochese v. Town of Ponce Inlet, 405 F.3d 964 (11th Cir. 2005) (“Under Florida law, a third party is an intended beneficiary of a contract between…

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…