Ayala Defeats the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss in Case Involving an IT Executive Breach of Contract Claim

Ayala has defeated the defendant’s motion to dismiss in a case involving the Australian IT director of a gaming manufacturing company. The complaint alleges that the company’s CEO requested that Ayala’s client relocate from Australia to the defendant’s offices in Miami.  

Pursuant to the relocation agreement, Ayala’s client was to be promoted to Director of Technology with a base salary of $240,000 per year, plus an annual bonus of $70,000.  The defendant also promised to sponsor the visas needed for the Plaintiff and his wife. For this process, the defendant forced Ayala’s client to use a certain immigration attorney, despite concerns by some executives in the gaming company regarding the competence of the chosen immigration lawyer.

In the end, and as a result of the failure of the immigration attorney and the defendant, the plaintiff had to come back to Australia after spending nearly a year in the United States and living in dual households, the US and Australia.  

The complaint alleges claims for breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, promissory estoppel, and breach of fiduciary duty.  

The defendant moved to dismiss arguing that there was not such a relocation agreement and that the relationship with the plaintiff was between him and the Australian, rather than the US entity.  

The court agreed with Ayala’s client and held that, “parent corporations and their wholly owned subsidiaries[] constitute separate and distinct legal entities.” (citing Ferro v. ECI Telecom, Inc., 314 So. 3d 711, 713 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021)). The court also held that the “Complaint’s allegations regarding the Relocation Agreement contain[ed] sufficient essential terms to plausibly allege a valid oral contract.”  

As stated by Eduardo A. Maura, “We are happy with the result. We are glad our client will see his day in court and hopefully obtain compensation for the losses caused by this one-year, dual-residence ordeal.”  

Attorney Luis Quesada, Esq. and Eduardo A. Maura, Esq., are litigating the case for Ayala’s client.  

For more information about contract disputes, contact one of our experienced attorneys at 305-570-2208. You can also email our lead attorney Eduardo directly at eduardo@ayalalawpa.com.   

We at Ayala Law PA are passionate about helping those in legal need, so please don’t hesitate to schedule a case evaluation with us online here.  

[The opinions in this blog are not intended to be legal advice. You should consult with an attorney about the particulars of your case].