An incentive award is a monetary award typically given by the court to the named plaintiff in a class-action case. This is done to compensate the named plaintiff for all of his or her personal time and effort devoted to the case. The public policy behind incentive awards has always been to encourage individuals to take on the role of the named plaintiff in a case, to work closely with the class’s attorneys and other members of the class.

Due to the frequency of issues arising out of faulty construction, the Florida legislature has created an alternative method to resolve such disputes that would reduce the need for litigation while protecting the rights of property owners. Under the Florida Construction Defect Statute, a property owner or a condominium/homeowner’s association is required to send a written notice of claim to contractors, design professionals and/or developers to resolve alleged defects before resorting to further legal process. 

The formal transfer of an LLC from one state to another is known as domestication. However, domestication is permitted only if both states allow for it. Domestication would be appropriate if you do no longer wish to conduct business in the original state of formation and would like to avoid dissolution and new company formation in the other jurisdiction. Many business owners choose to domesticate when they completely relocate to another state and wish to move their company with them.

A special purpose acquisition company “SPAC” is a publicly traded shell company that has been formed strictly for purposes of raising enough capital to purchase an existing company. Also referred to as a “blank-check company,” these development stage companies have no operations and purely rely on funding through an initial public offering “IPO”.

One of the recurrent issues that Miami business lawyers deal with often involves clients suing for defamation, or vice versa, clients being sued for defamation. Defamation, by definition, is the action of damaging the good reputation of someone. It usually involves a false statement of fact that was published or spoken with fault, or in other words, as a result of negligence or malice.

Unlike other countries, the American rule on attorneys’ fees is that each party must pay the costs of their attorneys. This means, if you’ve hired an expensive attorney to fight for you, you are obligated to pay his costs. Nonetheless, there are two exceptions to the American rule—the contract and statute exceptions. First, if a prior contract that was made between the parties had an attorneys’ fees clause, then the losing party is expected to pay the winning party’s attorneys’ fees. Lastly, a party is permitted to seek the payment of their attorneys’ fees under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). A Miami Business Law attorney can advise you if FDUTPA law applies.

When drafting trusts, many chose to transfer their real estate property into the trust. Transferring property into a trust usually safeguards it from probate after the owner’s passing and sometimes can provide tax benefits.

A right in property vests when an interest in property is transferred to someone and the right begins to belong to that individual. A right vests when it is not subject to a condition precedent.

There are three primary ways that multiple people can own a single property in Florida: joint tenancy with rights of survivorship; tenancy in common; and tenancy by the entireties.

If a party to a civil lawsuit passes away, the court will typically put the lawsuit on hold, instead of terminating it. This is done temporarily and with the purpose of giving the probate court time to appoint a personal representative for the estate of the deceased party. Through the personal representative, the heir or heirs of the deceased can continue the lawsuit.

As the country enters yet another month of economic uncertainty with regards to the coronavirus pandemic, a great deal of business interruption cases have surfaced. Companies throughout the United States, including many in Miami, Florida, are seeking coverage for their immense losses throughout this pandemic, specifically claiming direct physical damage to substantiate their business income coverage claims.

As companies in Miami, Florida seek business interruption coverage for their losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, they face the hurdle of exclusions in their policies.

A non-resident alien cannot own a S-corporation. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents can. If a foreigner becomes a shareholder in an S-Corporation, it will lose its S-corporation status.

The concept of common law marriage originated in English common law. It typically involves a cohabiting couple enjoying the same or nearly the same rights as a legally married couple. Today, only a minority of states recognize common law marriages in the United States. 

Homeowner Associations are subject to the rules and regulations under Florida Statutes Chapter § 720. Chapter § 720 delegates the association’s power, rules and duties, sets forth dispute resolution mechanisms, and owner improvements, rights and privileges.

An Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) is a loan offered to small business owners in Florida and throughout the United States amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This loan has an interest rate of 3.75%.

On Monday of this week, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez released a statement along with a new emergency order. Due to the recent spike of positive COVID-19 tests and hospitalizations, this new order will close many public establishments to stop the increasing spread of the virus. These closures will be made effective this Wednesday, July 8th, 2020.

The doctrine of impossibility applies in a situation where it is literally impossible for a party to a contract to perform their duties. The Florida court system generally has an interest in holding parties to the contract they sign and the duties assigned under that contract. Impossibility is a high standard, lack of performance cannot be excused by mere inconvenience, expense, or other non-impossible circumstances.

The CARES Act provides several unemployment insurance benefit programs which include: the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”); the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“FPUC”); and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (“PEUC”) which are further detailed below.

Courts can award attorney’s fees to the prevailing party if both parties have agreed to such a condition in a contract, or if there is a specific statute that grants attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in a certain case. If both parties prevail in different legal arguments, the court will conduct a balancing test and distribute attorney fees using its own discretion. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex, now also protects gay, lesbian, or transgender employees from being fired based on their sexual orientation. The ruling also upheld lower court rulings saying that sex discrimination included sexual orientation discrimination.

The EIDL program or Economic Injury Disaster Loan allows the SBA to provide loans of up to $2 million to small businesses that have suffered substantial economic injury. The EIDL reopened its loan program to small businesses on June 15, 2020 after closing to most small businesses in May of 2020.

1099-MISC is an important form that misfiling or failing to file will cost you hundreds of dollars. Be sure to inform yourself on your tax duties as a business owner. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Pandemic Unemployment Assistance? The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”) is a federal program, in addition to the CARES Act, that provides assistance to individuals whose employment is directly affected by COVID-19 and are not eligible for state Reemployment assistance benefits. This includes individuals who are independent contractors, gig workers, or self-employed. To receive this…   + Read More…

As D.C. legislators amend existing COVID-19 legislation, legitimate cannabis businesses might be leaving their financial straits behind.

No mucha gente lo sabe, pero es importante saber que una vez que un negocio o persona desfavoreada haya participado en el programa, ni el negocio ni esa persona volverán a ser elegibles.  El SBA rechazará automáticamente esas aplicaciones. Por lo tanto, una empresa puede participar sólo una vez.  No importa si la propiedad y el control han cambiado por completo; la empresa será rechazada si se aplica de nuevo.

Private adjudication provides the parties in a civil lawsuit two alternatives to court: (1) voluntary trial resolution (VTR) or (2) voluntary binding arbitration. These alternatives grant the parties of a lawsuit a path that avoids the traditional court litigation route.

Revised Florida Arbitration Code The Revised Florida Arbitration Code was initially signed into law in 1957, with the revision of the Code being adopted in 2013. As the Florida Bar Association states, the Revised Florida Arbitration Code is composed of three distinct sections: Pre-arbitration matters, such as scope of law that will govern the proceeding….   + Read More…

The coronavirus pandemic outbreak within the United States is unprecedented. Therefore, claims arising out of a disease outbreak are almost unknown to U.S. courts.

Business interruption insurance (or business income insurance) is a kind of insurance coverage that provides a business with funds that are meant to substitute for income that is lost due to the interruption of the business operations.

Many businesses have been concerned about ADA lawsuits and have sought methods to prevent them. While the measures are not particularly complex, they are essential to avoid the frustrations and expenses related to ADA lawsuits.

Throughout March, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued multiple Executive Orders related to the COVID-19 outbreak. As of March 23, 2020, Governor DeSantis has issued seven Executive Orders directly related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to the forced closure of many “non-essential” businesses, many contractual obligations have been affected due to the resulting workforce and supply shortages. These disruptions have left many wondering whether “force majeure” provisions will relieve them of their contractual obligations.

The FFCRA applies to only businesses with less than 500 employees. Divisions C and E establish two new laws that will take effect April 2, 2020 and will remain in effect until December 31, 2020 – the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.

Under Florida statute, a court can enforce an attorney’s fees clause even if the original language of the clause did not provide for attorney’s fee for that specific party. This is called reciprocity.

Discovery is the process that opposing parties use to build evidence against another and is an instrumental part of the adversarial system. The Florida Rules of civil procedure provides when discovery can be limited by the trial court.

If you have ever found yourself asking this question when working with a contractor or construction company, and the project seems to always be going over budget, then you may be entitled to recover from the Florida Construction Industry Recovery Fund.

Foreclosure is a lengthy and expensive process that your lender may also be trying to avoid. Your lender may be calling regarding the following alternatives to foreclosure.

Florida statue §68.065 permits the recipient of a bad check to file a lawsuit to collect on the check.

Florida statute provides that a landlord is to refund the full amount of the security deposit, minus any findings of property damage or other incidentals, within 15 days after the tenants move out of the residence.

Breaching an NDA can have serious consequences (e.g., a lawsuit against the person who is revealing the private information).  Normally, the remedies for a breach of an NDA are in the NDA itself.  Therefore, it is important to have a detailed NDA, which includes what is covered by the contract and the repercussions for disclosing such information.

The Florida court system has two tiers of trial courts; the circuit courts and county courts. Circuit courts have jurisdiction over trials not assigned by statute to the county courts and hear appeals from county courts. Thus, circuit courts in Florida are both the highest trial courts and the lowest appellate courts. Traditionally, the circuit…   + Read More…

Service of process in Florida can be made in person as well as by mail. To serve a corporation in person, the plaintiff should coordinate with the sheriff of the county in which the person to be served on behalf of the corporation is located.

Courts have given some guidance on what constitutes deceptive and unfair trade practices by companies in Florida. A business engages in deceptive practices if the action is likely to mislead the consumer. On the other hand, a business participates in unfair practices if it acts contrary to public policy by behaving unethically or oppressively towards consumers or other businesses.

If you live in an at-will state, you can be fired for no reason at all.  However, if you are wrongfully terminated, you may be able to sue.

Credit report files contain information about a person’s financial debt, including account numbers for current and past debts, loan types and terms and payment history.  When a person defaults on loan payments, the creditor may decide to send a report of the late payment(s) to the credit bureaus so that it will be reflected in the customer’s credit file.

Federal law recognizes certain characteristics of individuals as immutable and therefore, protected against discrimination. Identical to federal statute, Florida law forbids workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Do you expect to have a camera watching you while you work? In Florida, for the most part, employers are allowed to record their employees. However, certain exceptions apply.

In Florida, a residential tenant has a right to enjoy rented property peaceably and quietly. In the event of a constructive eviction, a tenant may terminate their lease with a landlord.

A joint tenancy cannot exist unless there is a present unity of interest, title, time and possession; that is to say, the interests must be identical, they must accrue by the same conveyance, they must commence at the same time and the estate must be held by the same undivided possession.

Business owners want to choose a location that will provide the most economic benefits to the company. To accomplish this goal, it is critical to gather information and research the demographics and economic characteristics of the cities you’re interested in.

A shell company can be created when shareholders of a private company purchase control of the public shell company and then merge it with the private company. The publicly traded corporation is called a “shell” since all that exists of the original company is its organizational structure. The private company shareholders receive a substantial majority of the shares of the public company and control of its board of directors.