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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›In Whitby v. Infinity Radio Inc., 951 So.2d 890 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007), Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal decided an appeal from a former employee who had lost on summary judgment in Palm Beach Circuit Court. The trial court had decided in favor of the employer, and against the employee, that the non-compete covenant…
Continue reading ›As discussed in our previous articles about hostile work environment claims in sexual harassment cases and race discrimination cases, the severity and pervasiveness of harassment necessary to qualify as an unlawful hostile work environment is extraordinary. Many employment claims are made based on an occasional joke made in poor taste and microaggressions. Even if the…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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,…
Continue reading ›The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was intended to allow “qualified employees” working for covered employers to be permitted unpaid medical leave arising from the employee or the employee’s family’s serious health conditions. Sometimes, an employee who is terminated for other reasons will claim that the termination was unlawful retaliation for seeking benefits under…
Continue reading ›Florida businesses may seek rescission of a contract in certain circumstances when the contract was entered into because of fraud, accident, or a mistake of facts. To preserve the legal right to invoke the remedy of rescission, when the basis for rescission is discover must immediately reject any further benefits under the contract and must…
Continue reading ›Trade secrets and confidential information can lose protection under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA) when they are disclosed to third parties. One way to maintain protection of this information under FUTSA, is by entering into a confidentiality agreement with the third parties that will receive the information. When trade secrets or confidential information…
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