Under Florida law, the tort of abuse of process involves the use of criminal or civil legal process against another primarily to accomplish a purpose for which it was not designed. Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal in Cline v. Flagler Sales Corp., 207 So.2d 709 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968), discussed the elements abuse of…
Continue reading ›Developments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) prohibition of non-compete agreements continue. Recently, a court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion for preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the ban in ATS Tree Services, LLC v. FTC, Case No. 2:24-CV-01743, 2024 WL 3511630 (E.D. Pa., July 23, 2024). This decision conflicts with…
Continue reading ›If you are in a business dispute involving several persons acting in concert with one another, you could have a claim for civil conspiracy. The “gist of a civil conspiracy [claim] is not the conspiracy itself, but the underlying civil wrong” that is the focus or purpose of the conspiracy. Tejera v. Lincoln Lending Servs.,…
Continue reading ›In a derivative shareholder action where corporate waste is alleged, it might be prudent to ask the court to appoint a receiver to take control of the corporation. Tampa Waterworks Co. v. Wood, 121 So. 789 (Fla. 1929) (holding that a shareholder can request a court of equity to appoint a receiver to manage the…
Continue reading ›Florida law provides a mechanism to forcibly dissolve corporations if that corporation is paralyzed by internal disputes between shareholders or board members. The mechanism can provide some frustrated shareholders an option to rid themselves of the asset and move on. Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca…
Continue reading ›The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) controversially issued a final rule banning most non-compete agreements. This rule severely impedes the ability of businesses to protect their legitimate business interests such as customer relationships, goodwill, confidential business information, and trade secrets. However, the FTC’s rule is facing legal challenges from different directions. Last week we wrote about…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have been a standard business practice for many years. Businesses use non-compete agreements to protect their interests like proprietary business information, trade secrets, customer, goodwill, staff, and others. However, on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) upended this long-standing business practice by issuing a rule banning most non-compete agreements. See 16…
Continue reading ›You should protect your trade secrets at all lawful costs. But sometimes, trade secrets are stolen and misappropriated despite your best efforts to protect them. This article discusses some of the remedies available when trade secrets are stolen and the duration you can obtain those remedies in the future. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale…
Continue reading ›Businesses often enter contracts with vendors, independent contractors, executives, employees, and others. But sometimes, these contracts may be verbal and unformalized. If a dispute arises regarding one of these verbal contracts, it may not be enforceable under the Statute of Frauds. Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in Fort Lauderdale,…
Continue reading ›If a creditor files a claim of fraudulent transfer against a debtor, the creditor has several options for remedies. The remedies available include injunctions, avoidance, attachment, appointment of a receiver, and potentially, money damages. These remedies are articulated in section 726.108, Florida Statutes. Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation attorney, and represents clients in…
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