Articles Posted in Business Litigation

Florida businesses that enter into contracts will often place “choice of law” provisions within their contracts. There provisions typically govern which state or country’s laws apply to a given transaction. These clauses are usually enforced by the courts, with some exceptions. While states generally share the same fundamental rules of contract law, the choice of…

Handling business litigation in one’s home forum, as opposed to a remote location, can have significant strategic advantages and reduce the stress and hassle of litigation. When a Florida business becomes involved in a lawsuit with an out-of-state opponent, that business may be forced to challenge the opponent’s invocation of an out-of-state forum or need…

Spoliation of evidence is a circumstance that may arise in business litigation when one party fails to preserve or intentionally destroys evidence after becoming aware of an imminent lawsuit. Spoliation is defined as “[t]he intentional destruction, mutilation, alteration, or concealment of evidence [.]” SPOLIATION, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019). Spoliation issues in business litigation…

Parties involved in a business litigation dispute may sometimes seek extraordinary remedies when they believe the circumstances warrant it. A party will sometimes seek to enjoin or compel another’s conduct to prevent them from causing irreparable harm through their action or inaction. In business litigation, one party often tries to get the court to order…

Florida companies often transact business outside the State of Florida and abroad. When those transactions go wrong, it can be important for both strategic and convenience reasons for the litigation to occur in Florida. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale business litigation lawyer. The Mavrick Law Firm represents clients in breach of contract litigation, non-compete…

The judicial remedies for victims of trademark infringement vary depending upon the intentions of the infringer. A Florida business which has been victimized by a malicious counterfeiter can seek lost profits, treble damages, attorneys’ fees, and other remedies. By contrast, a company which accidentally violated trademark law has significantly less exposure. A recent United States…

A previous article discussed how it is unlawful under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA) to take a trade secret using “improper means.” As technology has developed, new methods of commercial reconnaissance can make it difficult to determine whether method was lawful acquisition or unlawful espionage. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale business litigation…

Usually when a shareholder sues a corporation, the shareholder does so by means of a “derivative” action. Derivative means “coming from another.” A derivative action is a lawsuit that a shareholder files on behalf of the corporation against a third party – usually an officer, director or manager of the corporation – because of a…

The Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA) allows Florida businesses who have had their trade secrets misappropriated to seek damages or an injunction against the perpetrator of the misappropriation. For the acquisition to be an unlawful misappropriation, the confidential information must usually have been acquired through “improper means.” It is lawful for a Florida business…

A party to a non-compete agreement that was breached by the employer, may preempt its enforcement by seeking a declaratory judgment. To be effective, the declaratory action must include all parties who have a right to enforce the non-compete agreement. “[B]efore any proceeding for declaratory relief is entertained all persons who have an ‘actual, present,…