What To Do When You've Been Served With a Lawsuit in Florida

By: Zach McCormick
June 11, 2019

If you have been served with a lawsuit in Florida you generally have 20 days to file some type of response. (See Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.140) This may include filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit (usually on technical grounds), a motion to change venue (location of the suit) or simply an Answer (which is the formal name for your reply to the allegations against you). If you fail to respond within this window you may find yourself on the wrong end of a default action and that is definitely something to avoid. 

One of the biggest mistakes that I see regularly is people putting off dealing with the issue because it is unpleasant to think about. In other words, it is very easy to pretend the problem doesn't exist and hope that it goes away. However, in Florida, the problem only gets worse if you fail to respond  to a lawsuit and undoing the damage is not always possible. 

Another common pitfall is failing to realize that calling a good litigation attorney is just the first step. In my office, it is rare for a client to be able to get an appointment with me on the same day (or even the same week) that they call and I would venture a guess that the same is true in most experienced civil trial firms. This means that 'on-time is late' because hiring an attorney the day before the Answer is due deprives your counsel of the ability to properly respond to the allegations. The best practice is to build in some 'lead-time' so that your lawyer can  gather the necessary facts to form a viable defense strategy. 

There are a lot of tools that a good civil trial lawyer can use to fight back against a lawsuit but if a client comes to me late in the game, many of those valuable tools stripped away. Hence,  the best approach is hit the problem hard and early. There is nothing that will make the pain of learning that you've been sued go away completely. However, many of my clients report feeling immensely better after having retained me than before when they first came in and it makes sense for them to feel this way. After all, hiring a professional to do a job right is about the best thing anyone can do in a tough situation. 

Venue - Where Can I Sue Someone in Florida?

By: Zach McCormick
Date: June 11, 2019

In Florida, a person or business must be sued in their home county, where the "cause of action accrued" or place where the business is registered or property is located unless the parties agree otherwise. (See Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 47.011 and 47.051). 

An agreement otherwise (also known as a venue or forum selection clause) is extremely important because it can mean the difference between having a 'home-court advantage' and having to drive hours across the state to attend court or hire an unknown attorney in a city that is foreign to you. 

I have personally seen where a client made the logical (though incorrect) assumption that they needed to designate venue as being the county in which the defendant resided when they did not have to. It truly was a situation where they came so close to putting together a good contract but missed out on something that could have dramatically aided them in their negotiations. 

Non-Compete Agreements in Florida

By: Zach McCormick

June 10, 2019

Many people have heard of "non-compete agreements" but very few people know that these contracts must include specific language to be effective in Florida. Some states have found that such agreements run contrary to public policy and will not enforce them. However, Florida does enforce these documents so long as they are "reasonable" and specific as to the essential elements.  The problem is that these are subjective terms and their meaning varies from person to person. Thankfully, there is some guidance in   Florida Statute 542.335 and here are the bullet points for a valid non-compete agreement:

• Has to be written down and signed. 
• Must describe the what, when and where a person is prohibited from working.
• Must be to further a "legitimate business interest" (and cannot merely be a way to stifle competition). 
• Timeline for valid restriction ranges from 6 months up to 10 years depending on employee's role in company.

This particular statute is quite lengthy and detailed and it is a 'must read' for anyone who is dealing with this sort of issue. In point of fact, a failure to follow the guidelines in the statute could invalidate or otherwise 'de-fang' what might have been a viable non-compete agreement. Additionally, there is case law (decisions by courts) that touches on the issue. Hence, each case relating to these documents is very fact specific and having a good lawyer review or draft one can make all the difference.