Miami, FL 
305-928-1077 
Florida Business Law & Commercial Litigation Attorneys
Strategic Counsel. Relentless Advocacy.
At Perez Mayoral, P.A., we represent business owners, investors, and partners in high-stakes commercial disputes. When problems arise, whether it’s a breach of contract, partnership conflict, or corporate misconduct, we act quickly and strategically to safeguard your interests and pursue lasting, business-minded solutions.
Commercial Dispute Resolution
Business Litigation Services
Millions Won for Florida Businesses
Contract Disputes
Handling breaches, interpretation issues, and enforcement of contract clauses to protect clients’ rights and obligations.
Shareholder and Partnership Disputes
Representing stakeholders in disputes over management, profit distribution, and breaches of fiduciary duties.
Business Torts
Addressing issues like tortious interference, unfair competition, defamation, fraud, and more to protect clients and recover damages.
Commercial Real Estate Litigation
Managing disputes involving lease issues, zoning, property rights, and eminent domain.
Employment Disputes
Representing businesses in cases of wrongful termination, discrimination, wage disputes, and breaches of noncompete or confidentiality agreements.
Corporate Governance and Fiduciary Duty Litigation
Focusing on disputes related to governance, breaches of fiduciary duties, mismanagement, and corporate integrity.
Construction Litigation
Dealing with breaches, construction defects, mechanic’s liens, and payment or performance disputes.
Intellectual Property Litigation
Assisting in the defense and enforcement of trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.
Video Resources
FOR FLORIDA BUSINESSES
Strategic Counsel. Relentless Advocacy.
Protecting the interests of Florida businesses, investors, and shareholders through sophisticated representation in state and federal courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Questions Answered
How do I know if my business has grounds for a lawsuit?
Your business may have grounds for a lawsuit if you’ve experienced financial harm due to another party’s actions or failure to meet their obligations. Common indicators include breach of contract where the other party failed to deliver goods, services, or payments as agreed, fraudulent business practices that caused monetary losses, interference with your business relationships or existing contracts, trademark or copyright infringement affecting your brand, partnership disputes involving mismanagement of funds or breach of fiduciary duties, or employment issues such as trade secret theft by former employees. Additionally, if you’ve suffered damages from construction defects, real estate disputes, or unfair competition practices, you likely have viable legal claims.
The key factors Florida courts consider are whether you can demonstrate actual damages, establish the other party’s legal responsibility, and show a clear connection between their actions and your losses. To determine if your specific situation warrants legal action, gather all relevant documentation including contracts, correspondence, financial records, and evidence of damages. Contact our experienced business litigation attorneys for a consultation where we can evaluate the strength of your potential claims and discuss the most effective legal strategy for your case.
How long does litigation typically take?
Business litigation timelines in Florida vary widely based on the case’s complexity, court schedules, and whether parties reach settlement agreements. Simple contract disputes or straightforward business matters may resolve within 6-12 months, while complex commercial litigation involving multiple parties, extensive discovery, or involved legal issues can take 2-3 years or longer to reach trial. The discovery phase, where parties exchange documents and take depositions, typically accounts for the majority of litigation time and can last 6-18 months depending on the volume of information involved.
Factors that can extend timelines include crowded court dockets, motions practice, appeals, and the opposing party’s cooperation level. Many cases settle during mediation or negotiations before reaching trial, which can significantly shorten the overall process. Federal court cases often move faster than state court matters due to different scheduling practices and case management approaches. Emergency situations may qualify for expedited hearings or temporary injunctions that can provide quicker relief while the main case proceeds. For a realistic timeline estimate based on your specific business dispute, contact our office for a consultation where we can evaluate your case’s unique circumstances and provide a more precise timeframe for resolution.
Can my business recover attorney fees in litigation?
Whether your business can recover attorney fees in litigation depends on the specific circumstances of your case and applicable Florida law. Florida generally follows the “American Rule,” meaning each party pays their own attorney fees unless there’s a specific statute, contract provision, or legal principle that allows fee recovery. Common situations where businesses can recover attorney fees include contracts with prevailing party clauses, cases involving statutory violations like unfair trade practices or certain employment disputes, trademark and copyright infringement claims, and situations where the opposing party acted in bad faith or filed frivolous claims.
Additionally, Florida’s offer of judgment statute allows fee recovery in some cases where a party rejects a reasonable settlement offer and then receives a less favorable judgment at trial. The amount recoverable must be reasonable and necessary, and courts will review fee requests to ensure they’re appropriate for the work performed. To understand your potential for fee recovery in your specific case, contact our team for a consultation where we can review your contracts, assess applicable statutes, and develop a strategy that maximizes your chances of recovering attorney fees along with other damages.
What are the costs associated with business litigation?
Business litigation costs in Florida include several components beyond attorney fees, such as court filing fees ranging from $400-$500 to initiate a lawsuit, deposition costs of $500-$1,500 per witness, expert witness fees that can reach $200-$500 per hour, and expenses for document production, investigations, or forensic analysis when needed. Additional costs may include mediation fees, court reporter charges, and potential bond requirements for certain types of relief. The total expense depends heavily on factors like case duration, the amount of discovery required, number of parties involved, and whether the matter settles early or proceeds to trial.
Simple contract disputes might resolve for under $30,000, while complex commercial matters can cost significantly more depending on their scope and duration. Many cases settle during negotiations or mediation, which typically reduces overall expenses compared to full trial proceedings. To understand the potential costs for your specific situation and discuss our fee structure, schedule a consultation where we can evaluate your case and provide a detailed breakdown of expected expenses and available payment options.
What are my options if the other party isn’t upholding their end of a contract?
When another party breaches a contract, you have several legal remedies available under Florida law depending on the severity of the breach and your specific damages. Your options include seeking monetary damages to compensate for financial losses caused by the breach, requesting specific performance to force the other party to fulfill their contractual obligations, or pursuing contract rescission to cancel the agreement and restore both parties to their pre-contract position. You may also be entitled to consequential damages for additional losses that resulted from the breach, such as lost profits or costs incurred due to their failure to perform.
Before pursuing litigation, consider sending a formal demand letter outlining the breach and requesting compliance, as this can sometimes resolve the matter without court involvement and may be required under your contract terms. If the breach is ongoing, you might seek a temporary restraining order or injunction to prevent further harm to your business. In cases where the other party’s breach is substantial, you may have grounds to terminate the contract and seek damages for any losses incurred. The statute of limitations for contract disputes in Florida is typically five years for written contracts and four years for oral agreements, so timely action is important. Contact our attorneys for a consultation to review your contract terms, assess your damages, and determine the most effective strategy for enforcing your rights and recovering compensation.
Partnership and Shareholder Disputes
Miami Partnership and Shareholder Disputes Attorney
Business relationships can be fulfilling and productive, but sometimes, rapidly or over the course of years, they can deteriorate, becoming adversarial or even toxic. When the latter occurs, the partners or shareholders involved need the advice, guidance, and legal representation of strong business attorneys like those at Perez Mayoral, P.A. If your business is located in South Florida and you find yourself mired in partnership & shareholder disputes, contact us for a prompt, effective response.
How Perez Mayoral Can Help You Resolve Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
Most individuals who go into partnership with one another are in sync relative to their goals and visions of how to attain them. Nonetheless, circumstances may change, and they may find themselves arguing or even considering litigation. That’s where our knowledgeable, highly competent partnership dispute attorneys come in.
In many cases, partnership & shareholder disputes can be negotiated by agile attorneys so that litigation never becomes necessary. In other instances, mediation or arbitration are good alternatives. Our partnership dispute attorneys are adept in all types of dispute resolution. Once we take you on as a client, we will deeply commit to protecting your best interests, whether or not we have to take your case to court. Our history of successful outcomes speaks for itself.
Common Causes of Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
The causes of partnership disputes are varied, but typically fall into one of the following categories:
Disagreements About Distribution or Investment of Profits
Disputes about how resources should be allocated or distributed or about how profits should be reinvested in the company are fairly common. It is entirely possible that two or more well-intentioned partners disagree about whether profits should be channeled into new product research, expansion of the employee base, or improving the central office or storefront. Such disputes are likely to be able to be settled through negotiations or mediation.
Perceived Imbalance of Workloads
In one partner feels overburdened by work while another is taking a vacation, tempers may start to flare. As in marriages, what seems to be an unequal distribution of labor is a common cause of conflict and bitterness. At times, such a dispute can be resolved by a careful review of the partnership agreement interpreted by attorneys representing each party. At other times, it must be arbitrated or taken to court.
Questions About the Balance of Power Among Partners
Partners often differ about which party has the final authority to make decisions, even about small matters (e.g. office decor, petty cash disbursement, employee bonus disbursements.) Our diplomatic partnership dispute attorneys will usually be able to help you come to a meeting of the minds that works for everyone or proceed with mediation or arbitration if necessary.
Financial or Other Misconduct of One of the Partners
In some cases, you may believe that your partner has engaged in serious misconduct by:
- Embezzling or misappropriating funds
- Violating a non-compete agreement
- Misusing trade secrets
- Defaming you or someone else in the firm
- Falsifying books, financial records, or receipts/invoices
- Using inventory for personal gain
- Claiming false expenses
When you bring such serious misconduct to our attention, you can trust us to be discreet and to use our well-honed investigative skills to get to the bottom of the situation, tracking evidence and interviewing witnesses who can help to prove your case.
Breaches of Contract
One of the reasons clients come to Perez Mayoral is that we are well-known for crafting precisely worded partnership documents. A well-written and effective partnership agreement can go a long way to preventing partnership disputes, whether they are related to employee salaries and benefits, wrongful interference with a business opportunity, or discriminatory practices. We are also excellent interpreters of legalese, so we will be able to clarify whether one partner has actually breached your partnership agreement.
Common Causes of Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
Most often, shareholder disputes have to do with the imbalance of power between majority and minority shareholders, perceived violations of the shareholder agreement, or arguments about the direction the company is headed relative to purchases, policies, expansion, or investment.
Minority shareholders may feel that their rights are being trampled; majority shareholders may feel they are being prevented from moving the company forward. In any case, shareholder disputes can get ugly, interfering with the company’s profit margin, so contacting one of our accomplished shareholder dispute attorneys early on is a good idea. Some of the types of shareholder disputes Perez Mayoral handles involve:
Shareholder Oppression
Shareholder oppression occurs when majority shareholders in a company act with the intent to violate the rights and interests of minority shareholders. It is not uncommon for minority shareholder oppression to take the form of minority shareholders being denied access to documents revealing company finances. Lack of transparency definitely weakens their power base.
Another way majority shareholders sometimes oppress other shareholders is by attempting to “squeeze them out,” compelling them to sell their shares for an unfair price. This is more likely to occur in companies in which shares are not publicly traded.
Shareholder Agreement Violations
If the rights assured to you in a shareholder agreement are being violated, you need the services of our savvy shareholder dispute attorneys to protect you. As noted earlier, our legal team is ready to take action against anyone who is depriving you of your rights as a minority shareholder, rights to which you are legally entitled according to the terms of the shareholder agreement.
Disagreement Over the Direction of the Company
Although minority shareholders have voting power in selecting board members for corporations, they obviously do not have the clout of the majority shareholders. If the majority shareholders are steering the company in a direction that violates their fiduciary duty or goes blatantly against the company’s ostensible mission, as a minority shareholder you have the right not only to object forcefully but to pursue a lawsuit.
Contact Our Experienced Partnership & Shareholder Dispute Attorneys Today
Don’t back down if you are enmeshed in a business dispute in which you are in the right. If you are being pressured to yield power to a business partner or to the majority shareholders of a company in which you hold stock, consult with our well-informed law team now. Contact us so we can provide you with the legal protection you need and the personalized service you deserve.