Florida Civil and Contract Litigation for Individuals and Businesses

What Is Civil Litigation and When Do You Need a Civil Lawyer?

Civil litigation resolves a dispute between people or businesses through the courts, as opposed to a criminal case brought by the government. The goal is usually money, a court order requiring someone to do or stop doing something, or a declaration of each side's rights.

You may need a civil litigation attorney when an agreement has been broken, when someone owes you money and won't pay, when you've been sued, or when a property or business relationship has broken down and informal talks have failed. Getting advice early can keep a dispute from growing and protects deadlines that can't be recovered once they pass.

Civil Disputes for Individuals

Individuals usually come to the firm after a deal with a contractor, seller, landlord, or former partner goes wrong, often over amounts that matter a great deal to a household.

• Contractor disputes over unfinished, defective, or abandoned home repairs
• Money owed under a written or verbal agreement
• Deposit disputes after a failed home purchase or sale
• Conflicts between co-owners of real property, including partition
• Defending a lawsuit filed against you

If a roofer or remediation company was paid through an insurance claim and didn't finish the work, the contract dispute and the insurance claim may need to be handled together, and the firm handles both.

Business Litigation: Contract Disputes and Unpaid Invoices

Small and midsize businesses rely on contracts with vendors, customers, landlords, and partners, and when one side stops performing, cash flow suffers. The firm represents businesses both when they need to collect and when they're accused of breaking an agreement.

Breach of contract claims

A breach of contract claim generally requires a valid contract, a material breach, and damages caused by the breach. Much of the early work is reading the agreement closely for notice requirements, attorney's fee provisions, venue clauses, and any duty to mediate or arbitrate before filing suit.

Collecting unpaid invoices

When a customer owes money for goods or services, a well-documented demand letter often resolves it. If it doesn't, the claim can be filed in small claims, county court, or circuit court depending on the amount. Unpaid invoices and running balances can often be pursued as open account or account stated claims, which can be simpler to prove than a full breach of contract case.

Commercial lease disputes

Owners and tenants may face disputes over repairs, rent, lease terms, or early termination. The lease itself usually controls notice, cure periods, and whether attorney's fees can be recovered.

How a Civil Lawsuit Works in Florida Courts

Florida civil cases are filed in county court or circuit court depending on the amount in dispute, and most then follow the same general path, from a written demand through filing, discovery, mediation, and trial. Our guide on how a civil lawsuit works covers which court hears a case and what happens at each stage.

Contractor and Construction Disputes in Florida Homes

Home repair and renovation disputes are among the most common civil matters for Florida homeowners. A contractor may take a large deposit and stop showing up, perform work that fails inspection, or demand more than the written proposal allowed. On the other side, a contractor may be owed for completed work the owner refuses to pay.

Contractors generally must be licensed for the work they perform, and an unlicensed contractor may be unable to enforce the contract. Unpaid contractors and suppliers may record a construction lien against the property, which becomes a title issue the firm's real estate and deed practice can help clear once the underlying dispute is resolved.

Keep the signed proposal, every change order, proof of each payment, permit records, and dated photos of the work at each stage. Those documents usually decide who is right.

Attorney's Fees, Costs, and What a Civil Case May Recover

Each side usually pays its own lawyer unless a contract or statute says otherwise. Many business and consumer contracts let the winning party recover attorney's fees, and Florida law makes those provisions reciprocal, so a fee clause written to benefit one side can also benefit the other. Fla. Stat. § 57.105(7).

The recoverable amount in a contract case is generally the loss caused by the breach: the unpaid balance, the cost to finish or correct the work, or the benefit of the bargain you lost, sometimes with court costs and interest. Reviewing the fee clause and the likely recovery early helps you decide whether litigation makes financial sense.

Florida also allows formal proposals for settlement. If a party rejects a proposal and the judgment ends up at least 25% less favorable to them than the offer, the court can order them to pay the other side's attorney's fees from the date of the offer. Fla. Stat. § 768.79.

Florida Statute of Limitations for Contract and Civil Claims

Every civil claim has a deadline. A claim on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, and a claim on an oral agreement within four. Other claims have their own deadlines. Fla. Stat. § 95.11.

Because the date a deadline starts running is often disputed, it's safest to speak with an attorney as soon as a dispute arises.