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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›There are circumstances when a business, who is not a party to a lawsuit, will be required to disclose its trade secret information to respond to a subpoena. Florida law provides safeguards for that disclosure to be made in a manner that still protects the business’ trade secrets. However, a business may need to vigorously…
Continue reading ›Former employees who are accused of breaching their noncompete agreements with their former employer sometimes try to claim that the former employer engaged in illegal conduct, and thus, a noncompete agreement cannot be enforced. While there are certain types of unlawful conduct which a court may cite to justify the denial of request for a…
Continue reading ›Businesses have several available causes of action to claim when a competitor attempts to replicate the business’ appearance in advertising or its products. Trademark law, such as the Lanham Act, provides many remedies to a business which believes that a competitor is emulating the business and creates a “likelihood of confusion.” Consumer protection laws, like…
Continue reading ›A non-compete period may not be tolled because an employee is called for active military duty. While an employee may not be denied reemployment on account of a person’s performance of military duty, under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 38 U.S.C. § 4311, a court may consider the fact that…
Continue reading ›Most contractual disputes involve parties that dispute the meaning of particular contract terms. Whether a party will prevail in a breach of contract case will often depend on the interpretation of terms or phrases within the contract. Peter Mavrick is a Miami business litigation lawyer, and also represents clients in business litigation in Fort Lauderdale,…
Continue reading ›Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) to supplement the state law trade secret protection available to aggrieved businesses. While the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA) and DTSA cover essentially identical conduct, the DTSA provides unique opportunities for plaintiffs to pursue their case in a federal forum and allows plaintiffs to seek an…
Continue reading ›Former employees who quit their jobs will sometimes sue their former employers for retaliation based on the theory that they were “constructively” terminated. Under federal employment law, a “constructive” termination occurs when an employee’s resignation is caused by involuntary working conditions, duress, or an employer’s misrepresentation. However, the threshold of conduct which qualifies as a…
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