Miami Business Litigation Law Blog | Payton & Associates, LLC

When contract disputes go to an arbitrator instead of courts

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Contract Disputes on Thursday, February 14, 2019.

People in Florida agree to do certain things for others daily. However, if one party wants to truly ensure that the other party will follow through on what they say they will do, then the parties should enter into a contract. That is why businesses in Florida usually have contracts when they enter into agreements with other businesses. These types of contracts are also usually written so if there is ever a dispute later on the parties can refer to the written terms to determine what each of their responsibilities are.

These types of contracts can contain many different terms depending on the complexity and duration of the contract. However, most companies do not always look at every clause of the contract daily. Some of these clauses are only discussed when there is already a contract dispute between the parties. Some of these clauses only determine what process and law the companies will use to resolve their disputes when they arise. One of these types of clauses are arbitration clauses.

There are many disputes that arise in partnerships

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Business Litigation on Friday, February 8, 2019.

There are many different businesses in Florida. There are also different ways that these businesses can form. Some businesses form as S-corporations and others C-corporations. They could also form as a limited liability company, a sole proprietorship, a partnership and others. The type of business formation chooses depends on a number of factors, but it is important that the company clearly states the roles of the people in leadership to try and limit potential disputes that may arise in the future.

There are many different types of disputes that can arise depending on the type of business. However, some are unique to certain business formations. For instance partnerships may experience different types of disputes than corporations. Some of the common disputes that arise in partnerships are financial disputes in terms of how profits and losses are being split or one partner is diverting assets. Another is disputes over who has authority over which areas of the business and when one partner may overstep their authority. Partnerships may also experience disputes over workload issues between the partners. One partner may also be competing with the business or misappropriating business opportunities.

Architects or engineers may be liable for construction problems

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Construction Litigation on Friday, February 1, 2019.

There are many buildings constructed each year in Florida. However, there are many steps to undertake before a building is completed and tenants move in. The process starts with developers and companies researching good locations to build. There are real estate transactions to purchase the property, architects and engineers must design the building, construction companies build it and, finally, the tenants begin occupying the spaces.

Throughout this process, there are many people involved at every step. In each step of the process, things can go wrong as well. If something is done incorrectly, there could be construction litigation involved to determine who is at fault for the problem. The litigation often involves the construction phase of the project, but it is not always the fault of the construction workers.

Accountants must meet professional standards

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Business Torts on Thursday, January 24, 2019.

The year has just begun in Florida, and people have started getting back into their normal routines after the holidays. This means that people and companies will now start the process of doing their taxes. There is now a new tax law in place, and this means that there are changes that both businesses and individuals need to start following. It is important that tax documents are prepared correctly because it is not good to be in trouble with the IRS.

Many people and businesses will therefore turn to accountants to prepare their documents and guide them through the process of filing taxes. Accountants are hired because they are trained in the current laws, understand what information is needed and how to ensure everything is done correctly. As people are paying these accountants to prepare their documents they are putting their trust in them that they do in fact understand all the laws and will provide them services that meet their professional standards.

Developer sued for providing misleading information

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Commercial Real Estate on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

There are many different real estate developers in Florida. These various developers are responsible for constructing many different buildings and other structures. These are very costly projects, but they can be very profitable as well. However, they need the money upfront to pay for the costs so they can earn money after everything is built and they can sell and lease the various spaces in the buildings. This means that they must work with banks and investors to obtain loans.

The various banks make their decisions for loans based on many different reasons and one of them is appraisals of the property being developed. Recently a real estate developer was sued due to information they provided while the appraisal was being done. The lawsuit accuses the developer of providing misleading information. Particularly they claim that they purposely did not tell the appraiser that the zoning was likely to be changed, which would allow additional building and therefore the property would be worth more. This lawsuit is seeking a new appraisal of the property.

When a first breach of contract terminates a contract

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Contract Disputes on Thursday, January 10, 2019.

Contracts are important for businesses in Florida. Contracts state the obligations of both parties to a transaction. This is important because it gives both sides assurances about how the other side will proceed and allows them to plan accordingly. It also gives both sides the ability to later protect their rights if the other side breaches the contract. This is usually done through a lawsuit for damages the party suffered due to the breach.

One seemingly basic tenant of contract law is when one person fails to live up to his side of the agreement, the other person no longer must adhere to his side of contract either. This is known as the first breach doctrine. While it may seem simple, certain elements must be met before the non-breaching party can walk away from the contract.

Basics of copyright infringement litigation

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Business Litigation on Thursday, January 3, 2019.

People in Florida have various ideas for different products, write books and other types of written articles, write songs and music and create other types of art as well. People should get the credit and any income that may come from these various creations. Therefore, people who create new things can copyright or patent the creations to prevent others from stealing them and using them as their own. However, even when creations are protected through copyrights and patents others may still try to use them to make money.

If this occurs the owner of the copyright may have a copyright infringement claim. Copyright infringement includes but is not limited to doing the following actions without the consent of the owner: copying or reproducing work; translating it into a different language, developing a book into a movie; selling the original work; performing the work in public or displaying it in public and other actions without the permission of the owner.

Statute of limitations for construction defect claims

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Construction Litigation on Thursday, December 27, 2018.

There are many different construction projects in Florida and many different companies and individuals who work on these various projects. There are also many different products used to complete the projects and those products are made by many different companies. So, there are many different people and companies that need to be trusted to do their jobs correctly to ensure that the whole construction project is completed correctly.

However, due to the human element involved on construction projects, mistakes are going to be made from time to time. Usually before the project is completed these mistakes are found by the contractors before the project is complete, but there are other times when corners are cut on purpose to save time or money or for some reason the defects were not found during inspections. Sometimes, these defects are not found until after the owner of the property has taken ownership and something goes wrong.

Information companies need before purchasing land for development

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Commercial Real Estate on Thursday, December 13, 2018.

Companies in Florida looking to build office buildings, strip malls, factories, warehouses or types of commercial buildings have different options for how they will accomplish their goal. One is to buy land where there is existing commercial real estate with buildings on it and try to renovate the existing buildings or tear them down and build new ones. The other is to buy vacant land and build the structures they want on that land.

There can be advantages and disadvantages to all these options, but prior to buying any land the companies need to know certain information about the land first. The companies need to know the zoning laws for the land they are purchasing so they know whether they can legally build the type of structures they want to build. They also need information about regulations for the land for the height of buildings or how far they need to be from certain boundaries.

Obligations when there is an anticipatory breach of contract

On behalf of Payton & Associates, LLC posted in Contract Disputes on Thursday, December 6, 2018.

Businesses in Florida enter into contracts every day and by doing so they are agreeing to be bound by the terms of the contract. This means they must perform the obligations they agreed to perform. This could be either to perform certain services, provide certain products or perhaps simply pay for another company's goods or services. Another aspect of many contracts is that the parties to the contract must complete their obligations within a certain timeframe.

When companies do not perform their obligations within the proper timeframes or not at all they are in breach of contract. This means that the other party or parties to the contract can seek damages against the breaching party. However, there are certain situations when one party makes it clear that they are not going to perform their obligations before it is actually time for them to perform them. When this occurs it is known as anticipatory breach of contract.