Florida Business Litigation Legal Questions

This is not a legal issue, this is a finanical one. If you cannot afford a new engine, you won't get far trying to blame the oil change place expecting them to "foot the bill" based your need an bare accusation. You drove the vehicle for a month or more with no issues, so its unlikely there was less than 50% oil in the engine, as there would have been all kinds of isses and warning lights. UNless you get clear and compelling evidence of fault on the oil change place, you will simply be paying for a new engine or repairs out of pocket.... Read More

If the courier states it was delivered to your address, then the vendor won't have any interest in giving you a refund when they show you recieved the parts. You will need to get details from the courier as to when, where and to whom the items were cliamed to be delivered. If this was to an unsecure location like a porch, its possible porch pirates stole the items, which is not generally the responsibility of the seller/shipper unless it required signature. If you can show the item was not delivered to you, but the wrong location or person, you have a more viable dispute. You should also file a dispute with the credit card you used and hopefully they will issue a chargeback. ... Read More

You can't truly pretend you are confused that providing a place of employment you no longer work at is not the same as verfied employment. There is no question that they can repo the vehicle under most RISC sales contracts. Worse, is it seems you destroyed the engine, and now are likely to have no vehicle AND get sued for the damages to it when they recover it. YOu need to retain a lawyer ASAP to damage control this as you have made a series of very poor decisions. ... Read More

OK so in the state of Florida, if a property manager knows or should know that a tenant poses a dangerous risk to other tenants And fails to take measures to evict the tenant, then any person that is assaulted by the problem tenant could bring a case against the property manager for his negligence by not evicting that tenant. You did not say what your injuries were, but the value of your case would depend on both how much notice the landlord or property manager was on about the danger that this tenant posed, as well as what injuries you suffered as a result of the attack. You should retain counsel here in the state of Florida on contingency fee, which means you don't pay anything unless you win the case. I have done many of these cases, and they always turn on the notice that the landlord was on about the problem tenant, in addition to the damages that you suffered. You should take photographs of your injuries before they heal, and also seek immediate medical attention so that you can document and corroborate your injuries.... Read More

 This is a common dispute among the partners shareholders an LLC members     You need any lawyer who is practicing care areas include search disputes. Usually there is  he means to negotiate a resolution starting with the partnership agreement in pursuing remedies under the contractual agreement as well as Florida statutes dressing partnerships  Minority partner disputes and issues of mismanagement as well as fraud and deceptive conduct By a managing partner or shareholder are all too Common.   A full and complete investigation of the companies books and records will be necessary as well as reviewing the partnership agreement with an attorney and in conjunction with Cancel CPA analysis  In the situations you should immediately take action and lawyers such as myself and others may either charge you by the hour or after assessing the situation discuss  A contingency fee arrangement.  Abusive fraudulent and oppressive calendar as well as mismanagement by the managing member or managing partner requires a thorough analysis of the fax with the assistance of a lawyer  and again starting with requesting all of the books and records come up with dental damages in course of action for restructuring replacing or a buyer or break up     ... Read More

Well you will need to obtain all the books and records and have them assessed by an attorney and a CPA most likely and determine what has gone on.   Without more facts about any mismanagment or other alleged wrongful acts, and without reviewing the records, it is hard to know what really is at issue.  As to building a case, do your due diligence either on your own or with the aide of an attorney.  If its your business and money, then I recommend you invest in hiring an attorney, get all the records, and also consult with the company CPA or an independnent one.  ... Read More

Thank you for the questions.  Dissolving a partnership agreement and winding up business is not always an easy task they are several documents that you need to reference in order to ensure you have done it correctly.  Our Firm has experience with dissolution of partnerships and would love the opposrtunity to assist.  Please call me at any time 954-727-8268.  Have a great day.   Sincerely   Andrew... Read More

It is not your husband's agreement you need, but the lender's; the lender is the one whose rights (to seek payment from you and your assets as well as your husband's) are being prejudiced.  The judge can declare that, as between you and your husband, he has responsibility for the loan, and you could then sue your husband for any amounts you have to pay on the loan.  However, as a general rule, the judge can't change the rights of a 3d party (the lender) who is not before the Court. ... Read More

The first thing to do is look at the partnership agreement, or if none, then default under the Florida law on partnerships.  You do not indicate % for each, but assuming 50-50, then you have equal rights to all.  The time may be upon you to seek to dissolve the partnership or work out a buyout.  Much also depends upon the structure of the business, the agreement as to management and compensation, and capital investments.  What you should do, is immediately consult an attorney and pay for legal advice and representation to help you to obtain the best possible outcome, or assist in negotiating a resolution before things result in litigation and further financial harm.  ... Read More

Mr. Murray Your relatiosnhip with BCBS is, of course, controlled by the terms of the contract.  If you can show that BCBS was aware that you were selling other products and raised no objection, there might be a waiver but that would depend on whether the rep was a BCBS employee or agent so that the knowledge of the agent would be imputed to BCBS.   Additionally, hopefully you have something in writing that you can point to which will establish the knowledge on the part of the BCBS agent.  Otherwise it would be a swearing contest and that makes it an "iffy" lawsuit.  As far as other BCBS agencies doing the same thing, in my opinion that would be irrelevant to your issue which is contractually based.  Whether BCBS chooses to enforce other agents' contracts or not is not legally relevant to your situation. Jay Levy... Read More

It probably depends on the nature and specificity of the representations and whether they were in writing. The more specific the representations the more likely there is a case.  It also depends on the language of the contract of sale as to whether you can rely on oral representaitons.   Also in transactions of this type, there is a certain level of due diligence required of the buyer.  For example, did you check the books and records of the company before buying to verify the representations.... Read More

Well, that depends.  If the store is owned independently, you're probably going to want to serve the owners of the store (and that may be another corporate entity itself).  Go to sunbiz.org and search for the store under the fictitious name and then follow that info to the entity search.  Look for the "Registered Agent."  Then, you'll have ABC, Inc. d/b/a CDE, Corp. c/o Registered Agent at [address], and you serve that person/entity (the RA).  If the business isn't owned independently, use the same process, but you'll serve the registered agent for the corporate entity in Florida.  The corporatation doing business here should be registered as a foreign entity and then will be required to have a registered agent in the state of Florida.  If you serve the registered agent, you should be good to go.  I'd also say to check out the clerk of court in your county - generally there's some very helpful information regarding small claims.... Read More

I'm not sure where "act of god" comes into it unless you're concerned with insurance coverage.  Has the neighbor's negligence, either in failing to maintain or reinforce the wall (assuming that the wall is on their property and is therefore their responsibility) or in failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the shifting, or in some other way, caused you damage?  If so, you may be able to make them (or their insurance company) reimburse you for those damages.... Read More

In short, the answer to your question is yes.  Requesting arbitration would challenge the jurisdiction of the present forum.  If a party fails to challenge jurisdiction upon the first substantive response to a complaint the opposing party would likely claim you have waived your right to request arbitration.  All of this is depenedent upon whether the contract at issue calls for arbitration. ... Read More

She needs to consult with a litigation attorney… probably would find it helpful to have a business litigation attorney… and do so quickly.  Sounds like the individual that fell may have lost the chance at suing the company if she has already brought the same action and just didn’t include them.  That said, there are a lot of things that could have happened in that first case that could make you say they “lost.”  So, assuming that the individual could have a suit against the business – to answer your question regarding personal assets, if the suit is against the business, then the personal assets should be safe.  Since the business is an S-Corp, presumably, she filed the paperwork properly and put in the proper safeguards (like not-comingling funds and assets) that it would be difficult to “pierce the corporate veil.”  With the lawsuit filed, it’s time to get into a lawyer’s office to defend or get the case dismissed.  This is not something to do on her own.  Litigation is complicated and the consequences of missing a deadline or filing improperly, etc. can be devastating.  ... Read More

It is not only possible, it is done all the time.  The cost for just sending a demand letter should be minimal, no more than a few hundred dollars at most, maybe less.  However, you have to be prepared for the likelihood that the demand letter will not resolve the matter, and decide what you want to do in that event.  Do you want to sue?  Do you want a lawyer to represent you if you do sue?... Read More

Well, with 90k+ FL attorneys, finding an attorney that will draft up terms and conditions shouldn’t be a problem.  However, I write more to give a little insight from my experience as to what to look for in your search.  Generally, one of the things I see the most, are folks leaving the lawyer’s office with a draft that they may not even understand.  Make sure you know why the lawyer put this or that into the terms and conditions.  Much of it may be necessary ‘boilerplate,’ but still make sure you know it.  The next thing you may find helpful is to find an attorney that knows your business industry.  It may not make much of a difference in the end, but, in my experience, it may help ease communication difficulties between you and your attorney.  Finally, to answer your question directly, there are a number of outlets to find and research attorneys in your area, so take advantage of that.  Also, consider contacting your local bar association for a referral.  You may want to consult with a couple of attorneys before choosing one.  The main thing, particularly with drafting work, is to find an attorney with whom you understand and are comfortable with his or her methods of communication.... Read More

You say that you received a final judgment against a business.  I assume that this business is some form of independent legal entity (corporation, llc, llp, etc.), because otherwise you would have obtained a judgment against an individual or individuals.  Employees and equity owners of an entity (e.g. shareholders of a corporation, members of an llc) are normally not individually responsible for the entity's obligations, including judgments.  There are some exceptions, but you would have to sue the individual and prove that an exception applied, you could not simply collect from the individual to satisfy the judgment against the entity.  A lien does not operate against a business, or any other debtor; it operates against assets, such as bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, etc. which is owned by the debtor.  Thus, for example, you may be able to place a lien against a vehicle owned by the judgment debtor (I don't know the exact procedures you would need to follow to do that in Florida).  You can then start an action to foreclose on that lien, i.e. to have the vehicle sold to satisfy your judgment.  As long as you properly record the lien with the proper agency (I don't know what it would be in Florida) in order to give notice to potential buyers that you have a lien against the vehicle, anyone who purchased the vehicle would take it subject  to your lien - in other words, as long as the buyer was on notice of your lien, you can enforce your lien through foreclosure even if the business goes out of business and sells the vehicle to someone else.  Things may change, however, if the business files bankruptcy, especially if it does so within 90 days of your lien.  You should know that any lien you place will likely not be first in priority.  You indicate that there are other creditors of the business.  It is likely that one or more of them, especially the financer of the business (a bank or other lending institution) already has a lien on the assets of the business.  Thus, for example, it is likely that a bank or mortgage company has a first mortgage on any real property owned by the business; any lien you assert will be junior to that.  Any prior lien would have priority over yours, and thus you would not be able to satisfy your judgment by having assets sold until the debts owed by the business to prior lienors had been satisfied.... Read More

Depending on the nature of the claim, the case would turn on notice of a violent act.  If the police grid for the area shows a high likelihood or past history of gun violence, then the owner of the hotel would have to take suitable precautions against such problems.  However, your question said that the individual got shot near the hotel.  So the question is how near.  A property owner has obligations to take protection with regard to his or her property so I need to know how close to the property the incident occurred.... Read More