We see a see a range of lawsuits brought against businesses in the state of Florida.
The top 5 lawsuits happen to include business law and employment law disputes.
I’m attorney Reed Bloodworth, managing partner of Bloodworth Law.
I’m located in Orlando but I work with businesses across the state.
I handle business litigation, employment law representation, trust litigation, and probate
litigation.
Let’s talk about these common business lawsuits.
Number 1: Breach of Contract:
A breach of contract means one party made an offer, the other party accepted that offer,
and then one of the parties did not perform according to the agreement.
Breach of contract arises in numerous situations such when a company is sold or purchased,
when a business merger goes bad, when vendors aren’t paid, services aren’t provided,
or products are not delivered.
In an essence a breach of contract occurs when one party breaks a promise to another
party.
Whether you’re the company that is accused of breaching a contract, or you’re going
after someone because they breached a contract, you’ll have to respond and act in a manner
that will support your case.
Do you know whether to engage in calls, e-mails, and in-person discussions?
Should you ignore the other side?
And at what point should you hire a lawyer?
Everything you do affects your breach of contract case.
Speak with a business litigation attorney as soon as you believe a breach of contract
has occurred.
Number 2 most common lawsuit: Business Torts.
There are many lawsuits filed by and against businesses that are based on business torts.
So, what is a business tort?
Quite simply, a business tort is a wrongful act by or against a business, not sounding
in contract that results in damages.
There are 3 basic types of business torts: 1.
Intentional torts 2.
Negligence related torts 3.
Strict liability torts
Common intentional torts, meaning the wrongful act was committed on purpose, include conversion,
fraud, trespassing, and invasion of privacy.
Common negligence torts, meaning the person committing the wrongful act did not act as
a reasonable, prudent person would have, includes act of poor judgment and negligent misrepresentations.
Finally, common strict liability torts, meaning the act itself is so dangerous that a finding
of fault is not necessary, only that the tort occurred,
include product liability, extremely dangerous activities such as storing hazardous waste
or use of explosives.
Number 3: Wage and hour law violations
Wage and Hour violations are very common, particularly for companies that are based
in other countries but doing business in Florida.
a.
For example, a wage issue regarding overtime by multiple employees; or
b.
Understaffing businesses and overworking employees but not paying properly hourly or overtime
wages
Number 4: Discrimination against employees
This includes allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or wrongful termination.
Employees are protected from these acts by federal antidiscrimination laws.
If you don’t know these laws you’ll need an employment lawyer to help you through the
legal disputes.
A Human Resources staff person is not qualified to advise your business when you are sued
or when you’ve received formal complaints from employees.
Number 5: Wrongful termination
Florida is an at-will state, which means an employer can discipline, fire, hire, promote
and demote employees for pretty much any reason.
People confuse “at-will” with “right-to-work,” which has nothing to do with wrongful termination.
It means employees cannot be forced to join a union to work at a particular job.
Wrongful termination could be pursued by someone fired for:
• Discrimination • Harassment
• Pregnancy • Ageism
• Overtime or hourly wage disputes
We can represent you as an employee in this type of dispute or as an employer against
whom these accusations have been made.
The key is that you hire the right employment law attorney.
Employment law and business litigation is complicated.
If you or your business is facing a lawsuit or potential lawsuit, give me a call, and
let’s talk about how Bloodworth Law can help you.