FORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: SALE OF BUSINESS THAT INCLUDES A...
Under Florida law, courts evaluate the enforceability of non-compete agreements based on Florida Statutes Section 542.335 as well as case law interpreting this statute. Under Section 542.335(1)(b),...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: EMPLOYEE THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS
Some employers have confronted the situation where employees have taken corporate trade secrets to use in competition against their former employer, but the employees had not signed a non-compete...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: PHYSICIAN NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS
The Florida restrictive covenant statute allows employers to restrain employees from working for a competitor so long as the non-competition agreement is supported by a legitimate business interest and...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: EVIDENCE REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH TORTIOUS...
Plaintiffs often assert the common law cause of action of tortious interference in conjunction with other claims associated with unlawful competition. This is because the elements needed to prove the...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS
Nationwide, the body of law regulating non-compete agreements (including non-solicitation covenants, non-circumvention covenants, covenants barring poaching of employees) has been mainly regulated by...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: NON-COMPETE CONTRACTS BARRED BY PROPOSED WORKFORCE...
We previously wrote about two potential laws that might limit enforceability of non-compete agreements. The first law is a proposed Florida statute that would constrain or prohibit restrictive...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: ENFORCEMENT OF NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS
Florida law protects employers and similarly situated persons from unlawful competition. But every competitive act does not qualify as an unlawful competitive act. White v. Mederi Caretenders Visiting...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE WITH BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS
In the absence of a non-compete agreement, Florida law prohibits tortious interference with certain business relationships. The Supreme Court of Florida, in Tamiami Trail Tours, Inc. v. Cotton, 463...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: NON-COMPETE BURDENS
“Florida law … contains a comprehensive framework for analyzing, evaluating and enforcing restrictive covenants contained in employment contracts.” Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Alfieri, 23 F. 4th...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: THIRD-PARTY LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF...
One cornerstone needed to enforce a valid restraint on trade is the requirement to be in writing and “signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought.” Fla. Stat. § 542.335. Courts use this...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: GOODWILL AS BASIS FOR A NON-COMPETE...
A party seeking to enforce a restrictive covenant must plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests. Fla. Stat. § 542.335. The proponent typically claims to have a...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: EXTRAORDINARY OR SPECIALIZED TRAINING
Restrictive covenants like non-compete agreements and non-solicit agreements are valid if supported by one or more legitimate business interests. Fla. Stat. § 542.335. Those legitimate business...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: AMBIGUOUS CONTRACT AND PAROL EVIDENCE
The parol evidence rule is a substantive rule of law that limits the introduction of evidence to interpret the meaning of a contractual provision. King v. Bray, 867 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: THIRD-PARTIES ENFORCING NON-COMPETE...
A third-party can enforce a contract even though it is not a party to that contract if the contracting parties expressly intended to primarily and directly benefit the third-party. Bochese v. Town of...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS AND “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION”
Under Florida law, enforcement of a non-compete agreement requires requires proof of at least one “legitimate business interest.” Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (“The person seeking enforcement of a restrictive...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: FTC CANNOT ENFORCE RULE AGAINST NON-COMPETE...
Non-compete agreements have been a standard business practice for many years. Businesses use non-compete agreements to protect their interests like proprietary business information, trade secrets,...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: LEGAL CHALLENGES TO FTC RULE AGAINST...
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) controversially issued a final rule banning most non-compete agreements. This rule severely impedes the ability of businesses to protect their legitimate business...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: DEVELOPMENTS IN FTC BAN OF NON-COMPETE...
Developments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) prohibition of non-compete agreements continue. Recently, a court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion for preliminary...
View ArticleFORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: NATIONAL INJUNCTION AGAINST FTC...
The FTC’s rule banning most non-compete agreements continues to produce legal developments. Conflicting opinions were previously issued by a court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District...
View ArticleMIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: LEGALITY OF GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS
Businesses commonly enter into restrictive covenants with their employees to prohibit them from unfairly competing with the business during and after employment. Restrictive covenants include contracts...
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