Breach of Contract

Topkin Law prosecutes and defends breach of contract actions for businesses in Florida’s state and federal courts. By the time one of these cases is filed, the document has already resolved much of it. What remains is execution. The breach or the defense has to be framed around the language that governs, the performance record assembled, and the damages claim proved or dismantled.

The firm’s work here is informed by its transactional practice and by decades of indemnity and coverage litigation, so the strategy accounts for both what the contract says and how Florida courts have treated provisions like it.

What We Do

Defense of contract claims

We defend businesses with what the document and the record actually provide, whether that is an unsatisfied condition precedent, the plaintiff’s own prior breach, waiver and modification by course of dealing, setoff, failure of proof on damages, or enforcement of the limitation and exculpatory provisions the other side would rather not discuss.

Affirmative claims for businesses

Unpaid receivables under commercial agreements, vendor and service disputes, and enforcement of ownership, buyout, and transaction documents.

Indemnity and defense-obligation enforcement

A large share of the firm’s contract litigation involves enforcing indemnity and defense obligations, including declaratory actions filed when a tender is refused. That work also runs through the firm’s premises and catastrophic practices.

Damages and remedies

These cases turn on damages at least as often as on liability. We build and attack damages models, litigate mitigation and consequential-damages exclusions, and pursue injunctive relief or specific performance where money will not solve the problem, as with restrictive covenants and unique assets.

Attorney fee exposure

Fee provisions change what a contract case is worth. Under Section 57.105(7), Florida Statutes, a fee provision favoring one party is generally made reciprocal, so a clause drafted to protect a company can end up funding the claim against it. We evaluate fee exposure on both sides at the outset, because in smaller disputes it frequently exceeds the amount actually in controversy.

Awards & Accolades

Who We Represent

Florida businesses on both sides of commercial disputes, insurers and self-insured companies enforcing or resisting contractual indemnity, property owners and tenants, and healthcare businesses in payer, vendor, and partnership disputes.

How We Approach
the Work

The engagement starts with the document and the arithmetic. We read what the contract requires, test it against the performance record, and put a realistic number on the recovery or exposure once fees, collectability, and the business relationship are accounted for. Clients get that assessment before the first substantive filing.

After that, motions are used to narrow and to create leverage, discovery is kept proportional to what is at stake, and resolution is pursued when the numbers support it, from a position that makes clear the firm is prepared to try the case if they do not.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to bring a contract claim in Florida?

Generally five years on a written contract and four on an oral one, but shorter periods and exceptions apply to particular claims, and the limitations clock can begin earlier than parties assume. Treat any deadline question as specific to the claim and get advice rather than working from the general rule.

The other side breached first. Can we stop performing?

Sometimes. A material prior breach can excuse further performance, but the analysis is fact-specific, and a company that suspends performance on a mistaken reading of it hands the other side a counterclaim. Make that decision with counsel and document it.

Can we recover our attorney fees?

Only if a contract provision or a statute provides for them. Where a contract awards fees to one party, Florida’s reciprocity statute generally extends the right to the other, which is a factor in evaluating the case from the beginning.

Will the case go to trial?

Most commercial disputes resolve, but they resolve on terms that reflect how prepared each side appears to be. When trial is the right answer, the firm tries the case.