Articles Posted in Business Litigation

Arbitration can provide Florida businesses with a swift and less costly resolution to a dispute in comparison to litigation. Arbitration generally benefits the party accused of wrongdoing more than the plaintiff. Accordingly, a plaintiff will usually have the incentive to try to find a way to avoid the application of an arbitration clause while a…

Florida law concerning a claim of civil theft is a double-edged sword. A company that prevails on a business litigation claim of civil theft can be awarded treble damages and attorneys’ fees. However, a company claiming civil theft risks having to pay the opposing side’s attorney’s fees for failure to prove the required element of…

Parties to a contract with an arbitration agreement will often litigate the issue of whether the arbitration provision covers the parties’ dispute. Because arbitration is a different method of dispute resolution than court litigation, the distinguishing traits of arbitration can tactically benefit one party more than the other. Parties will often have the incentive to…

Consumers who receive an inferior product or service than what was advertised are certainly harmed by false advertising, but they may not have the incentive to sue or take action against the company issuing false advertisements. False advertising can have a far greater impact on competitors. A business that engages in false advertising can damage…

It is a common mistake in trade secret litigation for the company seeking protection for its trade secrets to fail to explain what trade secrets it wishes to protect. Courts require that plaintiffs describe their trade secret with a certain degree of particularity. Failing to do that can be fatal to trade secret claims. Peter…

Often, a member of a limited liability company can sue another member for a breach of an operating agreement in a corporate “derivative action” rather than in a “direct action” against the other member. This is because the victim is often the limited liability company, not the individual member. Aggrieved members of limited liability companies…

A shareholder wishing to file a derivative suit must generally present that dispute to the board of directors with a demand prior to filing a shareholder’s derivative suit. The way that this demand process works can vary between the states and can ultimately determine whether a shareholder is able to proceed with a lawsuit. A…

A company that successfully has its mark registered with the USPTO does not have immunity from other trademark owners claiming infringement. A trademark owner with a higher priority may nevertheless sue under the Lanham act if it can show that there is a “likelihood of confusion” between the two marks. Peter Mavrick is a Miami…

Disgruntled purchases of goods or services may later claim fraud by asserting that they relied on untrue statements made by the selling company when deciding to make the purchase. However, a purchaser generally may not rely on a statement that qualifies as “puffery.” A statement is puffery if it is merely a statement of opinion…

The business judgment rule can shield directors of corporations, members of limited liability companies, and associations from liability against claims of negligent management. The business judgment rule is designed to prevent courts from “Monday morning quarterbacking” the decisions made by those in control of organizations merely because the plaintiff does not like the outcome of…