In this part IV of the “how can I protect my small business from lawsuits” articles, I focus on insurance. How can having insurance protect me from lawsuits? It may not, but at least the insurance could pay for the lawsuit—sometimes. When any of the things mentioned in Part I, II, or III of my recommendations to protect your business from lawsuits do not work,…
Ayala obtained a $202,921 judgment in a lawsuit filed in Circuit Court in Broward County Florida, against a so called real estate “investment advisor” who defrauded Ayala’s Client. The lawsuit alleged that “[Defendants] . . . held themselves out to be experienced real estate investors and investment advisers able to purchase foreclosures properties at auction, and sell them at large profits.” Under the guise of…
In this part III of the “how can I protect my small business from lawsuits” articles, I focus on layering. What do I mean by layering? You can have, for example, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) and you, the human, be the owner of 100% of it. That type of ownership structure will give you the least protection possible. The law treats this type of…
By Eduardo A. Maura. Out of the many things I tell small business owners, when they ask me how to protect their businesses, separation is high in my list of recommendations. But what do I mean by separation? What I mean is, separate your business from yourself or your family or your other businesses. It is quite common that small business owners are the managers…
By Eduardo A. Maura. I’ve represented dozens of small businesses throughout the years. The main concern or question I am asked is still: How do I protect my business from lawsuits? The first thing that comes to mind is compliance. It is extremely important that businesses comply with all laws, regulations, and codes. Oftentimes, during litigation, litigants will use any violations of the law, ordinance,…
Ayala defeated the Defendant Corona Seeds’ Motion for Summary Judgement (MSJ). An MSJ is a request to the court in which the party moving argues that there are no factual issues in dispute, and the judge, rather than the jury, should decide the case in its favor. In the case, Ayala’s clients, two Peruvian growers, allege that they were sold defective seeds from the defendant…
There is a myriad of issues that can make an otherwise great contractual relationship go wrong. In this article we discuss the three most important ones we’ve found throughout the years: Lack of, or insufficient paper evidence of the contract: Believe it or not, one of the main problems is that we can’t find the actual contract. Whether it is finding signed version, all the…
Ayala obtained a final Judgment for $63,350 dollars in Attorneys’ fees for its client, after having prevailed in a jury trial earlier this year. The underlying lawsuit alleged that Ayala’s client, the buyer of the Property, interfered in the relationship between the Plaintiff/Realtor and the Seller, not present in the case. After prior attempts to get the case dismissed for failure to join the party…
Ayala filed a lawsuit against American Airlines (“AA”) and Allianz Insurance for their role in the sale of what they label as “travel insurance” or “travel protection” product. As stated in the Class Action Complaint (“Complaint”): “[A] reasonable consumer would get the net impression that Allianz’s insurance provides broad, no-fault insurance protection and coverage, and that should one choose to purchase this insurance, one would…
Ayala filed a lawsuit against Exclusive Residences, a company that sells vacation and travel packages and that primarily targets innocent foreigner consumers. As stated in the Complaint: “At the heart of Miami’s exclusive Design District, in carefully designed offices that provide an appearance of luxury and glamour, run by well-dressed, articulate, and charming sales agents, there is a massive (and successful) fraudulent scheme targeting humble,…
Most consumers, specially in south Florida, dread the moment they come back to their cars, and find that their vehicle has been towed. The experience can be awful. If you were going to pick up your child, you have to call someone to do it for you. If you were going to a meeting, reschedule. If you were going to work, call late. If you…
After nearly three years of contentious litigation, Ayala obtains a confidential settlement for its client, a local Miami medical center. As reflected in public filings, both parties aggressively litigated the case almost to the eve of trial. “It was a very difficult case. We faced very talented counsel from one of the top firms in the world. In the end, we managed to develop a…
Shareholder disputes are unfortunately not uncommon. Partners start with plenty of enthusiasm and ideas, but little of these ideas are placed in concrete sentences, in a binding piece of paper. Let’s make this graphic but describing a situation we’ve faced with many clients through out the years. In a normal partnership, let’s say of two that are 50/50 in ownership, there is always one partner…
Ayala filed a lawsuit against GTA advisors and its owner (“Defendants”), alleging that Defendants were negligent in the management and investment of its client’s funds. Ayala’s client main owner, Mr. Ubieto, was 75 years old at the time he started investing with the Defendants. Mr. Ubieto, from Guatemala, had a history of choosing extremely conservative investments, as part or most of the funds where…
Contracts can be complicated. In your typical business relationship there is, at the inception, a sense of trust, camaraderie, or even friendship, that leads the parties to agree to just the very basic terms of the contract, leaving the specifics for later, or signing them out of a pre-written form. Here are some of the most typical issues we’ve encountered: 1. Unknowingly waiving jury trial….
