Presenting and Defending Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices Claims
In any complex business litigation, it is likely that one side or the other — sometimes both or even several parties — will consider alleging a deceptive trade practices claim against the other. Most fraud cases will add a count under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), and borrowers defending a bank's collection and collateral liquidation actions will also think about this legal option if they believe the bank has dealt with them unfairly.
At Grumer & Macaluso, P.A., our attorneys have extensive experience with the analysis and proof of claims and defenses related to the fairness or honesty of an opposing party's conduct surrounding the transactions and relationships in dispute. Contact us in Fort Lauderdale to learn more about the way we handle unfair and deceptive trade practices litigation.
Fort Lauderdale Deceptive Business Practices Attorneys: Call 888-587-5549
The Florida statute covers both consumer and business-to-business transactions, and can be enforced either by the state or by private litigants. Extremely broad in its reach, the law prohibits unfair, deceptive or unconscionable actions or practices in trade or commerce, and can apply to an exhaustive range of circumstances. In our practice, the FDUPTA will most often be invoked for damages claims or counterclaims in these situations:
- Disputes between commercial landlords and tenants
- Loan enforcement and collections between lenders and borrowers
- Breach of contract actions in sales, supply agreements or licensing agreements
- Troubled franchise agreements
- Real property development and construction financing
- Commercial loan financing, refinancing and workouts
- Purchase and sale of businesses, especially between closely held equity groups
- Claims of conflict of interest or misappropriation of business opportunities against individual executives or directors
The evidence of misrepresentation, selective disclosure, bait-and-switch tactics and other misconduct in trade or commerce necessary to support a claim under FDUPTA will in most cases be substantially the same as that necessary to prove claims of fraud or other business torts. From the litigants' perspective, however, there is a significant difference between the statutory deceptive business practices claim and the more familiar common-law causes of action: under FDUPTA, a successful plaintiff can recover attorney fees and court costs from the party at fault.
Our lawyers' ability to analyze and evaluate unfair or deceptive business practices claims can add heft to a plaintiff's case, identify important counterclaims for a defendant in a contract or collections action, or open up avenues toward a positive outcome for any embroiled in a complex business sale or ownership dispute. Contact Grumer & Macaluso in Fort Lauderdale to learn more about this aspect of our civil litigation practice.
