Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

In July 2012, Mr. Mavrick successfully represented a corporation in a jury trial in federal court in Miami, Florida. The corporation was being sued for alleged overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Mr. Mavrick and his opposing counsel made opening statements, and then four witnesses testified on behalf of the Plaintiff. At the…

In a September 2011 jury trial in Miami, Florida, Peter T. Mavrick successfully defended his client who was being sued for over a million dollars. Mr. Mavrick’s client won a complete defense verdict. Mr. Mavrick’s client was being sued for alleged fraud, breach of partnership agreement, breach of contract, civil theft, and conversion. On the…

By Peter T. Mavrick The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a recent case confirmed that under federal law “illegal aliens,” i.e., undocumented workers, are covered employees under the federal overtime and minimum wage law called the Fair Labor Standards Act or “FLSA” for short. Galdames v. N & D Investment Corp., 2011 U.S.App.LEXIS 12705…

Attorney Peter Mavrick’s client, a condominium association, recently prevailed in an appeal before the Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission. The appeal was from an adverse decision made by an unemployment appeals referee following the termination of the condominium association manager. The manager was terminated for what appeared to be disloyalty and lack of candor to her…

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed, in part, a Broward Circuit Court temporary injunction involving a non-competition covenant between business competitors. 4UORTHO, LLC v. Practice partners, Inc., Physician Wellness Products, LLC, et. al., 18 So.3d 41, 43-44 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). The injunction prohibited “soliciting any practices which are current or prospective clients” of…

The recent Third District Court of Appeal opinion in Reliance Wholesale, Inc. v. Godfrey, 2010 Fla.App.LEXIS 19459 at * 9 (Fla. 3rd DCA December 22, 2010), held that where a non-competition covenant is drafted as an “independent covenant,” as distinguished from a “dependent covenant,” a material breach defense premised on the employer’s alleged failure to…

Attorney Peter Mavrick recently obtained dismissal of an employee’s federal and state law claims for race discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation against a medium sized corporation. The employee’s lawsuit followed the EEOC’s issuance of a right to sue letter against the employer corporation. The employee contended that the employment termination was based on race,…

In a recent December 2010 Eleventh Circuit case, an employer had a favorable jury verdict overturned for failure to timely assert a crucial affirmative defense. In Diaz v. Jagmar Management Group, LLC, 2010 U.S.App.LEXIS 25361 (11th Cir. December 13, 2010), the Eleventh Circuit reversed a jury’s verdict that the employee was exempt from the federal…

Abel v. Southern Shuttle Services, Inc., 620 F.3d 1271 (11th Cir. 2010), affirmed summary judgment for a shuttle company that was sued for overtime wages. The shuttle company won the case because it showed it was not subject to the federal overtime wage law, i.e., the Fair Labor Standards Act, because of an exemption under…

FOURTH DCA OVERRULES WORK PRODUCT OBJECTIONS TO CONTENTION INTERROGATORIES Compelling meaningful responses to contention interrogatories seeking the basis for a party’s contentions in its complaint or affirmative defenses often meets mixed success. Until the Fourth DCA’s decision in Grinnell Corporation v. The Palms 2100 Ocean Boulevard, Ltd., 924 So.2d 887 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), trial…