Why You Need A Commercial Litigation Attorney For Unfair Competition Cases

Deceptive trade practices and unfair competition present a major commercial risk to businesses: they can erode your client base, diminish your brand, and jeopardize the profits of your entire enterprise. If your business has been adversely affected by the unfair competition and deceptive trade practices of a rival, you’ll need an experienced commercial litigation attorney in your corner to deal with the matter decisively and ensure your business recoups any financial loss it suffered. Florida’s unfair competition law is complex, but having a basic understanding of the legal framework will help you to remain vigilant and protect your business’s interests.

An Overview Of Florida’s Unfair Competition Law

The Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) prohibits “unfair methods of competition, unconscionable acts or practices, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce”. The FDUPTA regulates commercial conduct in Florida and is a vital tool in the hands of businesses that have suffered financial loss as a result of unethical or unfair conduct. In addition to protecting businesses, the FDUPTA also aims to protect consumers who have been misled through unfair trade practices. Another piece of legislation, called the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, also aims to protect Florida businesses that have had trade secrets misappropriated by employees, licensees, partners, or other persons. In some unfair competition cases, federal law may also apply – this is especially the case when theft of intellectual property is at issue.

Many of the key principles in Florida’s unfair competition legal framework have been developed through authoritative case law that can be difficult to interpret, which is why hiring a skilled commercial litigation attorney is important for this kind of legal dispute.

Common Examples Of Unfair Competition

Unfair competition is a legal category that includes a wide range of unlawful business practices. Whether you’re a consumer, a business owner or a member of a close corporation, it’s important to have a basic grasp of what unfair competition involves. If you’re running a commercial enterprise, it’s also important to understand what constitutes unfair competition, so that you can be sure your business practices comply with Florida law.

Unfair competition

Unfair competition may involve a range of practices. Often, unfair competition involves a rival enterprise’s use of false or deceptive advertising to mislead consumers and cause confusion in the marketplace, with the result that potential customers of business A mistakenly purchase goods or services from rival business B.

Other examples of unfair competition, which tend to affect consumers in particular, include false product advertising (when a product is marketed as having particular qualities that in reality it does not possess); bait-and-switch tactics (when retailers market a cheaper product at a discounted price when it is in fact unavailable, and then attempt to sell consumers a more expensive version of the product); and price fixing (when a group of retailers collude to sell a particular product at a fixed, inflated price, restricting the choices of consumers and forcing them to purchase more expensive goods). Both consumers and businesses may bring an action under the FDUTPA with the assistance of a commercial litigation attorney to challenge and seek compensation for these unfair practices.

Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement occurs when one company uses, without authorization, the trademark or logo of another company in order to mislead and attract that company’s customers. The trademark or logo need not be an exact replica – as long as it bears a striking similarity to the established company’s trademark, such that consumers will be confused as to the source of the products, then a case for trademark infringement can be brought. Trademark infringement cases are particularly complicated as they require an in-depth knowledge of intellectual property, an area of law that involves both federal and state statutes as well as voluminous case law.

Trade secret misappropriation

The definition of a trade secret is very technical, but in essence, trade secrets are information, data, methodology, formulae, processes, programs or techniques that are valuable because they are not known by an enterprises’ competitors or by the general public. The exclusivity of trade secrets to the enterprise is part of what makes them profitable. When a business’s trade secrets are ‘misappropriated’ – that is, the secret information is stolen and leaked or used by a third party – the business will have a claim to recover any financial loss it has suffered as a result. Trade secrets may be misappropriated by employees, by business partners, by licensees, and by others who have been granted access to the business’s trade secrets on condition of confidentiality.

The Role Of A Commercial Litigation Attorney In Litigating Unfair Competition Cases

As with any commercial litigation, there is a lot at stake in unfair competition cases – often thousands of dollars in lost revenue, your business’s brand and reputation, and the goodwill you have established with your customer base are all on the line. Knowing that your case is safe in the hands of a team of highly skilled, reputable commercial litigation attorneys will give you peace of mind that your commercial interests are being vigorously protected. As will be clear from the explanation below, your attorneys will play a crucial role in the formulation and presentation of your case, and the outcome will hinge in part on how effectively they represent your business.

Assessing merits and providing strategic advice

Your commercial litigation attorney will first need to assess the merits of your unfair competition claim and provide you with an evaluation of your prospects of success. In the early stages of your matter, they will gather the facts giving rise to your claim, consult with you to gain an understanding of how the unfair competition has negatively affected your business, and advise you on the remedies available to you in law. They will also begin crafting the overarching litigation strategy, predicting your opponents’ likely defenses, and conducting legal research that supports your case. Prior to proceedings being launched, your attorney may first encourage you to attempt to resolve the matter through mediation or settlement negotiations.

Gathering evidence

Gathering evidence is especially important in unfair competition cases, as your business will need to establish through facts placed before the court that a competitor engaged in deceptive or fraudulent conduct, that this conduct confused consumers that were part of your shared customer base, and that this conduct caused your business financial and/or reputational losses. A seasoned commercial litigation attorney will have a strong grasp of the kinds of evidence the court will be looking for to satisfy itself that a case for unfair competition has been made. At a later stage in the proceedings, your legal team will need to take depositions, strategically use the discovery process, and prepare a strong line of cross-examination to undermine your opponent’s case.

Drafting and presenting legal argument

As your matter enters its most active stage, your lawyer will need to meticulously draft your civil complaint and summons, take care of all filings, and liaise with court officials and your opponent’s attorneys. A crucial part of your legal team’s role is preparing a lucid, persuasive oral argument to present to the court at the hearing. Hiring commercial litigation attorneys with extensive trial experience and compelling oratorical skills will give your case a major advantage.

Proving damages

One of the most challenging aspects of unfair competition cases is proving that your business has suffered loss. Quantifying the loss you have suffered – in the form of lost customers, or reputational damage – can be very complex. It is vital that your commercial litigation attorney appoints a suitable expert to testify on behalf of your business and prove the quantum of damages it has suffered. Even when you have established that unfair competition took place, your case will ultimately hinge on whether you can convince the court that your business deserves financial compensation.