FORT LAUDERDALE BREACH OF CONTRACT ATTORNEYS

Common types of contract lawsuits in Fort Lauderdale include:

• Contracts for goods and services
• Construction contracts
• Employment contracts and independent contractor agreements
• Franchise agreements
• Noncompete and nondisclosure agreements
• Purchase or sale of a business
• Purchase or sale of real estate
• Commercial leases
• Unpaid compensation, including salary, commission, and benefits
• Shareholder and partnership agreements

Nearly every contract is different, and each contains specific provisions that must be closely examined when there is an alleged breach. As a result, it is important to discuss your breach of contract dispute with an experienced contract attorney to protect your legal rights.

When one party breaches a contract, the other party may sue for several different types of damages, including:

• Compensatory damages: Compensatory damages cover direct contractual losses (expectation damages). They also cover special damages (consequential damages), which are caused indirectly by a broken contract.
• Liquidated damages: Damages that are specifically stated in the contract are known as liquidated damages. They are often included in a contract to incentivize compliance.
• Restitution: Restitution forces the breaching party to forfeit their ill-gotten gains. The goal of restitution is to return the nonbreaching party to the position they would have been in had the contract never been made.
• Specific performance: A decree ordering the breaching party to fulfill a contractual obligation.
• Contract recission: Both parties’ contractual obligations are canceled.
• Contract reformation: The original contract is rewritten to account for a mistaken understanding.

If you file a breach-of-contract lawsuit, you must prove three elements to prevail: (1) the existence of a valid contract, (2) breach of the contract’s terms, and (3) damages resulting from the breach of contract.

Existence of a valid contract

An enforceable contract contains the following elements:

• Offer: At least one party must make a promise to do, or refrain from doing, a specific act in the future.
• Consideration: Contracts are based on a mutual exchange of value. Each party must give up something valuable, which is the “consideration,” to get something valuable in return.
• Acceptance: The contract does not become legally binding until each party accepts its terms. A method of acceptance (such as oral, written, handshake, in-person, or through the fulfillment of a certain act) is often specified in the contract’s offer.

Breach of the Contract's Terms

A contract breach occurs when one party fails to do something the contract requires. Breaches can be material or nonmaterial. Material breaches are those that prevent the contract from being fulfilled or defeat its original intent. Nonmaterial breaches are more minor breaches that do not necessarily preclude contract fulfillment.

Breach-of-Contract Damages

Even if there is a legally valid contract and a breach of the contract occurs, if the nonbreaching party does not suffer any type of financial harm, they may not have a valid breach-of-contract case. Damages might include lost revenue, income, or benefits, or be more indirect, such as damage to a company’s reputation. As part of your free case review, our Fort Lauderdale contract attorneys will explore all possible damages you may be able to recover.

Breach-of-contract lawsuits often also involve business torts. While a breach-of-contract claim arises strictly out of one party’s alleged failure to meet contractual obligations, business torts cover a broad range of misconduct and can arise independent of the contract terms.

Common examples of business torts our Fort Lauderdale attorneys handle include:

• Breach of fiduciary duty: A fiduciary duty may arise where a relation of trust and confidence exists between the parties. Fiduciary relationships may be contractual, statutory, or implied by law. A legal claim arises when a fiduciary duty is breached, which proximately causes damages to the nonbreaching party.
• Civil conspiracy: A civil conspiracy occurs when: (a) two or more parties, (b) do an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means, (c) that includes some overt act in pursuance of the conspiracy, and (d) damage results from the acts performed.
• Conversion or civil theft: Conversion or civil theft is the wrongful taking of the property of another. The difference is that civil theft requires “felonious intent” — i.e., the intent to steal. If a party is found liable for civil theft, they may be required to pay treble (triple) damages as well as attorney fees and costs.
• Defamation (libel or slander): False and damaging statements about a company or individual, whether written or oral, that cause financial losses can lead to a legal claim against the entity for defamation.
• Fraud or negligent misrepresentation: If you relied on a statement that turned out to be untrue, whether the statement was intentionally or inadvertently misleading, you may have a claim for a misrepresentation or fraud.
• Tortious interference: Tortious interference occurs when one party intentionally interferes with the contract or business relationship of another party and causes economic harm.
• Unfair and deceptive trade practices: A deceptive practice is one that is likely to mislead consumers. An unfair practice is one that offends established public policy and one that is immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous, or substantially injurious to consumers. A party bringing a claim under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) may seek damages including attorney fees and costs, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.

The Business Trial Group handles all contract and business tort disputes on a contingency fee basis. That means our clients pay no upfront fees and no fees at all unless we make a successful recovery in the case. If we do not recover damages, you pay nothing.

Contingency fee contract litigation provides our clients with an affordable attorney so they can see their case through to the end.

Contingency fee business litigation is an invaluable tool in contract disputes because it allows the damaged party to pursue the full amount they are contractually owed, without fear of high hourly attorney fees making litigation unsustainable. When both parties to a contract dispute are paying an attorney by the hour, the wealthier party can drive up costs and force their opponent into an unfairly low settlement. Contingency fee contract litigation provides our clients with an affordable attorney so they can see their case through to the end.

Depending on the contract dispute, it also may be possible to shift attorney fees to the other party. Importantly, even if your lawyer is working on a contingency fee basis, you may still be able to recover your attorney fees as if you were paying out of pocket.

If you have suffered damages due to a contract breach, our Fort Lauderdale attorneys can help you recover your losses. We regularly represent clients on a contingency fee basis throughout Broward County, including Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Deerfield Beach, Weston, Margate, Coconut Creek, and Parkland.

To discuss your situation with the Business Trial Group at no cost, fill out our case evaluation form.