Author Archives: Michael Pike and Daniel Lustig
What To Know About ‘Demand Futility’ And Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits In Florida
As of January 1st, 2020, the State of Florida modified its procedural requirements for shareholder derivative lawsuits. Plaintiffs in these cases must establish demand futility before they can proceed with legal action. This raises an important question: What is demand futility in a shareholder derivative lawsuit? In this article, our Miami shareholder dispute attorneys… Read More »
What Is Distracted Driving?
According to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe… Read More »
Court Revives Civil RICO Lawsuit Against Major Consulting Firm
According to reporting from Bloomberg Law, Jay Alix, of New York City based financial services company AlixPartners, received a favorable decision in a civil RICO case in a federal appeals court. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has revived Mr. Alix’s federal civil RICO lawsuit against McKinsey &… Read More »
Florida Regulators Warn Residents About Jury Duty Scam
On January 25th, 2022, the Office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody put out an official news release warning state residents to beware of a new jury duty scam. State officials believe that scammers are calling people in Florida and falsely telling them that they failed to show up for jury duty. Scammers then… Read More »
Amazon Sued For Price Fixing And Collusion
Online retailer Amazon recently found itself in trouble for a business practice that the Attorney General in the State of Washington alleged was illegal. The program has since been shut down, and although your business may not be as large as Amazon’s it’s still worth looking at, as a lesson to how careful businesses… Read More »
Understanding The Statute Of Limitations On Construction Lawsuits
There is no simple answer for what the Statute of Limitations is on construction litigation cases. Many of the classifications depend on the type of construction lawsuit you are filing, whether it be against a contractor, construction company or property owner. Florida Statute 95.11 breaks down the “Limitations other than for the recovery of… Read More »
Fact: Driving In South Florida Is Dangerous. Period.
You know driving in South Florida is pretty awful when Yahoo! News dedicates an entire article to how shockingly dangerous it is here. Borrowing from the Sun Sentinel, the piece dives in to what people who are either here to stay or are just here for the winter months need to know about “driving… Read More »
Don’t Let Your Employee Handbook Become A Binding Contract
As a general rule, it is a good idea to create and have an employee handbook and have employees agree to that handbook. The employee handbook clarifies everyone’s rights and responsibilities, and can protect you in the event an employee alleges that they were let go without reason. However, Florida is an at-will employment… Read More »
Examining A Real-Life Tragedy And Ridesharing Lawsuit
We’ve discussed what to do when your Uber driver, or other ride-sharing service, gets into an accident while you are a passenger. We advised that you should immediately have your physical condition assessed whether you feel injured or not. Even in a minor fender bender, it’s always important to seek medical assistance as you… Read More »
Keeping Your Business Safe From Injury Lawsuits
If you have a physical property, you may give a lot of thought to keeping your business safe from lawsuits by employees, vendors, or from being sued for breach of contract. These are all very valid concerns. However, a lot of people don’t think much about keeping their physical property safe from physical injury—that… Read More »
Founding A Start-Up Partnership In Florida? Six Things To Include In Your Partnership Agreement
Florida is a great place to start a new business. According to data from the Small Business Administration (SBA), approximately 85,000 new companies are formed in the state each year. Crunchbase reports that South Florida has become one of the nation’s hottest markets for start-up companies—with start-ups in the region raising more than $1… Read More »
FDUTPA Violations: Defining The Terms “Deceptive” And “Unfair”
Often referred to simply as the “Little FTC Act”, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act (FDUTPA) is our state’s most comprehensive consumer protection law. It allows consumers, organizations, and businesses to seek financial relief for damages caused by “deceptive” practices and/or “unfair” commercial conduct. This raises an important question: What constitutes an… Read More »
Paypal Faces Civil RICO Lawsuit For Freezing Customer Accounts
According to a report from Bloomberg, Paypal—the large multinational financial technology company—is facing a civil RICO lawsuit. The claim alleges that the company’s “freezing” of certain customer accounts amounts to racketeering activity. In this blog post, our Miami RICO claims lawyers provide a more detailed overview of the allegations raised against Paypal and explain… Read More »
Witnesses Must Have Personal Knowledge Of What They Say In Court
When you are in a lawsuit and present evidence in favor of your claim, regardless of whether your witness is live and in person to testify, or whether your witnesses will simply fill out an affidavit, your witness must have personal knowledge of whatever it is that they will say in court. This may… Read More »
How The Economic Loss Rule Could Limit Your Damages
As a general rule, when there is a breach of contract, the damages for the breach are in the contract. Sometimes they are explicitly stated, and sometimes they can be inferred–but either way, someone’s damages for a breach are limited to, and defined by, the terms of the agreement. Suing for More Than the… Read More »
Amending Complaints, And The Relation Back Doctrine In Business Law Cases
In a typical business law case, there can be a lot of causes of action for one set of circumstances. For example, if an officer of a company were to steal from a company, you could have claims for things like conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. This is common in law—there are… Read More »
How Do You Get Evidence In A Business Law Case?
In a typical business law case, there can be a lot of evidence that your business law attorney needs to gather to prove your case, or to defend against any allegations that are made against you. At trial, we always see lawyers with lots of paperwork, evidence, and witnesses. But how does an attorney… Read More »
Your Copyrights Can Expire. But When?
Let’s say that you create a picture, design, play, book, or piece of artwork—something that is eligible for copyright protection. You register for, and get copyright protection. The rights that come with that copyright protection are yours, and you can leave it to your heirs forever…or can you? Why Copyrights Expire Actually copyrights do… Read More »
Employer Who Paid Employee In Pennies Is Being Sued
When you’re an employer, you probably know that not paying your employees will land you in trouble. But one employer is finding out that you can also get in trouble for how you pay your employees. Mechanic Employee Says He Wasn’t Paid The problem arose when an auto mechanic wasn’t getting paid and was… Read More »
What Is Florida’s “Little FTC Act”?
The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 (FTC Act) is one of the most important nationwide consumer protection laws. Signed by President Woodrow Wilson, the FTC Act makes unfair methods of commerce and competition unlawful. Many states have their own version of the FTC Act, including Florida. Modeled after the long-standing federal statute, the… Read More »