Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

The Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) provides a means for customers to sue a business which deceptively charges additional fees. When a business conducts itself in an unlawful, unfair, or deceptive manner to its own customers, the business’ competitor may also assert a FDUTPA claim for the harm that these practices indirectly…

Separation agreements commonly include releases of liability for employers and employees to avoid litigation for any claims that may have been asserted by either party. The presence of a release in the separation agreement does not necessarily relieve the employee of non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality clauses from a prior agreement. Peter Mavrick is a Fort…

For an employer to be liable for retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the employee must show the adverse action (the decision to terminate) was made because of the employee’s protected activity (the submission of discrimination complaint). Employers may prevail against these retaliation claims by showing that the…