Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

Under Florida law, a corporation that acquires the assets of another corporation generally does not assume the liabilities of the predecessor corporation. The successor corporation will acquire its predecessor’s liabilities only to the extent it agreed to acquire those liabilities in the asset purchase agreement. Many states have similar laws regarding a successor corporation’s liability.…

On April 17, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict in Florida law: whether discrimination based on pregnancy constitutes “sex” discrimination in violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (“FCRA”). The Court held that because pregnancy is a “natural condition unique to women and a ‘primary characteristic of the female sex,’” discrimination…

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) not only requires that employers pay minimum and overtime wages, it also prohibits employers from retaliating against their employees for complaining about their wages. The FLSA makes it unlawful for employers to “discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed a complaint or…

A common dispute that arises in overtime and minimum wage litigation is whether an individual hired by the defendant is an independent contractor or an employee. Many companies choose to hire independent contractors to perform work instead of hiring employees. Because independent contractors are not considered “employees” under the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”), the…

Florida law tends to favor enforcement of non-competition covenants. Under Florida law, non-competition covenants are enforceable if they protect one or more legitimate business interests and if they are reasonable in time, area, and line of business. In fact, Florida law explicitly forbids courts from considering “any individualized economic or other hardship that might be…

When an employee brings a claim for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the employee must prove that he or she worked overtime without proper compensation. If the employer kept accurate records of the employee’s work hours, the employee could easily prove his or her case by referring to those records. For…

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that all employers covered by the FLSA pay their employees overtime wages for hours worked over 40 hours per workweek. Generally, “overtime” wages are 1.5 times the regular wage. The FLSA, however, identifies several classes of employees who are exempt from the overtime provision. One such class of…

Because arbitration usually is cheaper and faster than litigation, employers often include arbitration agreements in their employment contracts. However, courts do not always enforce arbitration agreements. Although federal law favors arbitration, state and federal courts may find an arbitration agreement unenforceable for several reasons. One such reason is when the arbitration agreement contains a provision…

Under Florida law, non-competition covenants are generally enforceable if they protect one or more legitimate business interest. However, certain acts by the employer could defeat the enforceability of the non-competition covenant. Under contract law, a party’s material breach of a contract will render the entire contract unenforceable against the other party. In other words, if…

Before drafting a will, the testator, i.e., the person who owns the assets that will be distributed after his or her death, must fully understand any restriction placed on the alienation of his or her assets. A testator might erroneously believe he or she has the power to devise an asset as he or she…