Litigation

• Business and Commercial litigation
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  At some point, most every business owner faces the prospect of fighting a court case. Most of these cases can be settled favorably before trial if handled properly from the outset. Having handled hundreds of difficult personal and business disputes, our attorneys have the experience to analyze your case, identify reachable goals, and ensure that victory comes at a reasonable cost. With this in mind, our lawyers work closely with you to identify objectives and establish budgets. We keep you regularly and thoroughly informed at all stages of the process, and prepare and try your case with cost-saving, cutting-edge trial advocacy techniques.
  
  

• Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act Claims
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  Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act protects individuals and businesses from becoming victims of those who prey on others through false advertising, unfair business practices, and other deceptive conduct. We handle both sides of these disputes. If you believe you have been a victim of consumer fraud or a deceptive business practice, please call our office. We handle many of these cases on an affordable no-recovery-no-fee basis.
  
  Conversely, we have seen many instances where others have falsely accused our clients of such practices. Unscrupulous plaintiffs seeking a quick monetary settlement can abuse the process by bringing nuisance suits. Even in those cases where there is some merit to the claims, the damages are often far overstated. If your business finds itself in the position of defending a deceptive trade practice case, you need reliable and strong defense counsel to control the outcome. We can bring you cost-effective guidance and representation in these difficult circumstances.
  
  
• Lender Liability
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  Lawyers often discuss lender liability in general terms because the term really encompasses a variety claims apply to many different aspects of lender-borrower scenarios. Most of those claims flow from the basic premise that lenders must treat their borrowers fairly. If they don't, they can be subject to claims of discrimination, failure to exercise due care, breach of contract, fraud, or interference. In recent years, especially in the subprime lending context, courts have begun to extend the doctrine to an increasing variety of situations, holding institutions liable for breaches of fiduciary duties or third-party negligent misrepresentations. At the firm, we are actively involved in litigation on a regular basis concerning the liability of lending institutions for harm done to their borrowers. If you are involved in a loan transaction and you believe the lender has enjoyed an unfair advantage or taken an unreasonable position against you, we urge you to contact us for an evaluation. Because we understand that you are very likely in severe financial straits as these situations arise, we offer affordable or alternative legal fee arrangements for our work in handling these claims.
  
  
• Fraud/ Interference/Unfair Competition
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  Business torts are a family of claims arising from either negligent or intentional wrongdoing. They are not committed against persons or property, but, instead, the harm done is to intangible assets, such as economic interests or business relationships. There are three main categories of business torts:
  
  The tort of fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation arises from making a false statement or, where the party making the representation has a duty to make a full disclosure, lying by omission of the whole truth.
  
  There are two species of tortious interference claims. Interference with contractual relations permits a plaintiff to recover damages based upon a claim that a defendant interfered with the plaintiff's contractual relations in a manner that exceeds the bounds of fair competition and free expression of speech. Interference with advantageous business relationships deals with economic interests that have not yet been formalized into contract.
  
  The Florida legislature has codified the tort of unfair competition as a statute that makes unlawful any unfair competitive activities, such as luring away customers with a confusingly similar trade name or other form of consumer brand identification.
  
  Whether or not these claims create liability, they risk reputational harm and punitive damages.  Our attorneys have extensive experience pursuing and defending against disputes involving business torts. We understand that these claims often arise on an emergency basis, and require pursuing or defending against a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to keep a business up and running throughout the litigation process.
  
  
• Commercial Real Estate Lease Disputes
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  Commercial real estate leases are fertile ground for litigation. The complexities of these transactions, coupled with statutory regulation, and far-reaching financial implications often result in hard-fought and intense legal battles. Our experience with commercial leases and our understanding of the business needs of landlords and tenants allows us to help you find a solution to whatever problem your situation presents. We represent landlords, tenants, guarantors, assignees, and subtenants in all types of commercial lease disputes. We have represented clients in eviction actions, unpaid rent collections; property damages claims; transfers of tenant rights; exercise of renewal options; and enforcement or defense of all variety of non-rent lease terms.

  Whether you need to pursue or defend against a claim, our experienced trial team can help you identify your case goals, put together a reliable budget to reduce the risk of overspending, and guide you through the process all the way through a favorable judgment or settlement.
  
  
• Real Estate Sales Disputes
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  The well-publicized bursting of the recent real-estate bubble has certainly had a far-reaching negative impact on real estate professionals, developers, and homebuyers in both the residential and commercial markets.

  We have found that several if not the majority of recent residential real estate transactions did not comply with the requirements of the law. For instance, many new home and condominium developers did not comply with the federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ILSA). Even those builders that were represented by very skilled and experienced law firms, either ignored or failed to conform their dealings to comply with this consumer protection statute. As a result, buyers who placed deposits can get refunds and those who actually closed can revoke the transaction and recovery all of their fees and costs, even their legal fees and expenses. Our lawyers were among the first in Florida to sue developers for ILSA violations. Over the last few years, we have represented hundreds of purchasers in both individual and class action lawsuits. In certain cases, we can offer contingency fee based legal services to affected individuals.

  In other transactions, traditional legal theories of liability come into play. These cases usually involve construction defects, breaches of contract, fraudulent misrepresentations, negligent appraisals, and lender misconduct. Whether we represent a buyer seeking damages or rescission of a contract or a contractor defending against an attempt to break a contract, we take a comprehensive approach to identifying potential causes of action or defenses and aggressively handling even the most tenacious of opponents through the process.

  We represent buyers, sellers, builders, and brokers in litigation relating to all varieties of real estate transactions. Whichever side of the dispute you find yourself on, our experienced trial team can help you identify your case goals, put together a reliable budget to reduce the risk of overspending, and guide you through the process all the way through a favorable judgment or settlement.