Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

Misappropriation of a trade secret can occur when there is an acquisition of another’s trade secret by improper means or through disclosure or use of a trade secret without consent by a person who used improper means to acquire the trade secret or knew that the trade secret was improperly acquired. Section 688.002, Florida Statutes.…

When a party appeals a court order before the conclusion of the case, the appellate court’s decision on the questions of law presented on appeal governs how the trial court decides those questions of law throughout all subsequent stages of the lawsuit. This concept is known as the “law of the case” doctrine. The law…

Companies often hire experienced sales and business development professionals to expand their business. A non-solicitation provision in an employment contract is intended to prevent post-termination solicitation of clients with whom the business has substantial relationships. When an employee brings clients to a company, it is important to distinguish whether the employee had a prior business…

Distinguishing between a franchise relationship and an agency relationship can be difficult in a jury trial. A jury deciding may need to understand the difference between them in business litigation. The two relationships are distinguishable. In a franchise relationship, the franchisor and franchisee are separate businesses. The franchisor licenses its business’ trademark(s) and operating system…

Parties who seek the forensic examination of a personal electronic device (like a computer, tablet or mobile phone) during business litigation need to address the other party’s privacy concerns. A forensic image, otherwise known as a “mirror image” will “replicate bit for bit sector for sector, all allocated and unallocated space, including slack space, on…

When the wording of a contractual provision is confusing or ambiguous, courts must interpret the contract in a rational manner. Some examples of vague contractual provisions include, “during business hours” and time frames with no clear anchor date, i.e. “within six months of commencement.” The courts generally agree that where one interpretation of a contract…

Court appointment of a provisional director to a corporate entity is a remedy that recently became available in business litigation. Where corporate deadlock exists, a court has discretion to appoint a provisional director to a corporate entity “if it appears that such action by the court will remedy a situation in which the directors are…

An exculpatory clause is a contract provision that is often raised in business litigation. The purpose of an exculpatory clause is to relieve one party of liability if damages are caused during the execution of the contract. Exculpatory clauses are enforceable only where and to the extent that the intention to be relieved was made…

Company websites often play a vital role in business litigation, both as a source of biographical and background information, as well as intellectual property disputes. Some lawsuits involve content that was displayed on the website at one point in time but is no longer available. A resourceful method of obtaining records of historical website content…

This article is the second of a two-part series concerning the enforcement of noncompete agreements when the former employee claims that his former employer engaged in illegal conduct. Part I explored the enforceability of contracts which contain illegal terms. This, Part II, addresses how allegations of illegal conduct can affect noncompete agreements particularly. As shown…