Author Archives: Michael Pike and Daniel Lustig
The Top Three Reasons Why Minority Shareholder Sue Corporate Officers
Broadly defined, a minority shareholder is any shareholder who holds less than 50 percent of the total value of a corporation’s shareholder. A minority shareholder may be someone who owns a 40 percent stake in a mid-sized, closely held corporation. Alternatively, a minority shareholder may be someone who owns far less than 1 percent… Read More »
Lack Of Boating Education Responsible For 70% Of Fatal Boating Accidents
It’s no surprise that Florida has the most registered boats in America, but with that honor comes a troubling statistic. Florida continues to lead the nation with the highest number of boating accidents. In 2020, officials counted a total of 836 Florida boating accident cases, causing 79 deaths (including 5 missing persons presumed dead)… Read More »
Florida Expands Apex Doctrine To Companies
As a general rule, in a business law case, you can depose whoever you want, so long as the person you are deposing has relevant evidence to the case. But there is one exception to that: The Apex doctrine. What is the Apex Doctrine? The Apex doctrine says that you can’t go straight to… Read More »
Should Your Business Use Employment Separation Agreements?
You probably know that in Florida, you don’t need an employment contract to hire someone, and you certainly don’t need a reason to fire someone, Florida being an at-will employment state. So it may seem odd to you to consider proposing an employee sign a contract when the employee is being fired, or when… Read More »
Storage Unit Evictions And Property Sales
Your business may have items in storage, and that means that you may at some point have a problem with the storage company. What are the laws that a storage company must follow, and what rights do you, as a tenant, have against a storage unit owner? No Lawsuit Needed As a tenant, your… Read More »
Civil RICO Lawsuit Alleges That CNBC Star Marcus Lemonis Destroyed Dozens Of Small Businesses
According to a report from Forbes, Marcus Lemonis—an American businessman and the star of the hit television show “The Profit” on CNBC—is facing a civil RICO lawsuit over allegations that he caused serious damage to dozens of small businesses. Dozens of small businesses have raised complaints about the show, though not all of them… Read More »
How Are Damages Measured In An FDUTPA Claim?
The Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) is a state statute that is sometimes referred to as “Florida little-FTC Act.” The law allows businesses and consumers to hold bad acting companies legally liable for damages caused by a deceptive, unfair, misleading, or otherwise unjust commercial practice. The FDUTPA allows plaintiffs to recover… Read More »
Partnership Disputes In Florida: Who Is Responsible For The Debts Of The Business?
Building, owning, operating, and growing a successful business is complicated. A partnership can be an effective, efficient business entity for many different purposes. If your partnership is incurring debt—or it has financial obligations—it is imperative that you understand your personal liability, or lack thereof. In this article, our Miami partnership dispute lawyers explain how… Read More »
Locast Case Is A Lesson In Reading The Law Correctly
What does it mean to be a nonprofit organization? How important is it to read and comply with the language of federal law? One large broadcaster is learning that lesson the hard way. Getting Broadcast TV As you likely know, if you want broadcast TV in your home—the basic cable networks, like CBS, NBS,… Read More »
Ben & Jerry’s Director In Trouble For Self-Dealing
We have written in the past about the various ways that officers and directors of a company can get themselves in trouble. Often, this includes breaches of fiduciary duties. Certainly, the mere fact there was a bad business decision, or that the company doesn’t do well, does not mean an officer or director is… Read More »
Things You Didn’t Know (But Should) About The ADA
When we think of disabilities that our employees or workers may face, we often think we, as employers, know when an employee is disabled, and we know when we need to make accommodations for them. Disability Isn’t Always Clear But in the real world, many diseases and disabilities aren’t so clear, and the nature… Read More »
Florida Appeals Court: Car Dealership “Waived” Right To Compel Arbitration In FDUTPA Case
On August 18th, 2021, the Fourth District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida ruled that an auto dealership waived its right to compel arbitration in a Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) claim. In the case of Marino Performance Inc. v Jose Carlos Zuniga and Juan C. Zuniga Jr., the… Read More »
Partnership Disputes: Know The Alternatives To Litigation
For a business owner, litigation can be time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating. It is even more difficult if you are involved in a lawsuit against your own business partner. With partnership disputes, the parties can often benefit from trying to resolve the matter using a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Here, our Miami partnership… Read More »
7 Shocking Statistics About Road Rage
Road rage, also referred to as aggressive driving, is unfortunately very common. Aggressive driving has been a problem for a while, but lately, it seems to be getting worse. Whether it’s life in the pandemic or simply increased reporting, incidents of screaming, rude gestures, and sometimes even violence on the road are no longer… Read More »
Shareholders Score Victory In Lyft IPO Lawsuit, Obtain Class Status
According to a report from Reuters, a group of Lyft shareholders have scored an important victory in their lawsuit centered around the company’s initial public offering (IPO). A federal judge in California has stated that shareholders can proceed with their class action claim against the San Francisco-based ridesharing giant. The plaintiffs allege that Lyft… Read More »
4 Tips To Avoid Car Accidents
According to a new study conducted by Finder, Florida made it to the top 10 list of worst drivers in America. The findings state that Florida ranked number 10 in 2020 due to the state’s average percentage of DUIs, uninsured drivers and fatal accidents. The top 10 states with the worst drivers all had… Read More »
Crowdfunding: What Is It, And Is It Legal?
Let’s face it: Raising money and finding investors can be difficult. Many investors will want some stake in your business, which creates its own set of legal hurdles and impracticalities. But what about crowdfunding? What is it, and is it something that’s right for your business? The Benefits of Crowdfunding Crowdfunding allows your company… Read More »
Avoiding Harassment And Discrimination Lawsuits
The best way to defend a harassment or discrimination lawsuit at the workplace, is to avoid lawsuits in the first place. While there is no completely foolproof way to do that, there are things you can do at your workplace to minimize the chase of lawsuits–and to strengthen your defenses, should a lawsuit be… Read More »
Pulling Credit For Prospective Employees Legally
There are a lot of reasons why you may want to check the credit of a prospective employee, before hiring him or her. Whatever your reason, you should be aware that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has very strict restrictions on when credit can be pulled, how, and the procedures surrounding background or… Read More »
Tesla’s Autopilot System Under Federal Investigation Over Multiple Car Crashes
The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it would be investigating Tesla’s Model Y, Model X, Model S and Model 3 cars after a series of car crashes involving its Autopilot system and parked emergency vehicles occurred, four of which happened this year. Tesla’s Autopilot system keeps the… Read More »