Many employers attempt to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and treat all employees equally based on their protected statuses. Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin. Notwithstanding, employers sometimes have to contend with unmeritorious Title VII lawsuits…
Continue reading ›Purchasing a business can be a complicated matter. Multiple documents such as contracts promissory notes, and financial schedules may can obligate the parties in different ways during the sales process. Sometimes a business sale goes bad. Maybe the buyer or seller wants to back out or a party does not comply with its contractual obligations.…
Continue reading ›Trademarks are important for every business. Business names, logos, and symbols are important for the public to be able to identify the business and can help build and maintain goodwill in the business. Businesses want to protect their trademarks from infringement, and that might include pursuing litigation against an infringer. If a business successfully prevails…
Continue reading ›Sometimes business deals result in disagreements between business partners about the direction of the business. This includes cases where a business partner acts improperly by trying to usurp control of the business and oust or “freeze-out” other partners. An example of this occurred in recent case filed in Pennsylvania, Harvey v. Tidemark Partners 1 LP.…
Continue reading ›Restrictive covenants, such as non-solicitation and non-compete agreements, are important tools for businesses to protect their business interests. Restrictive covenants are enforceable if they are reasonable in time, geographic area, line of business, and supported by a “legitimate business interest.” Fla. Stat. § 542.335. Florida Statutes section 542.335 contains a non-exhaustive list of legitimate business…
Continue reading ›Obtaining judgment against a defendant in a civil lawsuit is one thing. Collecting on that judgment is another. The prevailing party can obtain writs of garnishment to seize the judgment debtor’s wages or other writs to acquire the judgment debtor’s property. But these actions may not be adequate to recover the full judgment amount. In…
Continue reading ›A lawsuit is generally considered over once a litigant obtains judgment in its favor assuming no appeal is taken and no post-judgment collection issues exist. However, the losing party is often left unsatisfied. Therefore, the loser may try to “re-do” the lawsuit by suing the defendant again using slightly different claims or lodging the lawsuit…
Continue reading ›Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” The broad language of this statute makes employers susceptible to Title VII claims brought by employees. Most Title VII lawsuits are brought by members of a minority group. However, a member of a…
Continue reading ›It is important that businesses classifying workers as independent contractors ensure they are properly classified. Whether workers are independent contractors can have important implications for various federal and state statutes. For example, if a worker is an independent contractor, the business does not have to pay them overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Many…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have received significant attention this year after the Federal Trade Commission issued a rule on April 23, 2024, banning most employee non-compete agreements. The rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. However, on August 20, 2024, a court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
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