Benford, John Yates

John Y. Benford devotes his practice to litigation and trials in both state and federal courts, and concentrates in the area of commercial and business litigation. Mr. Benford has been litigating and trying cases throughout the state of Florida for over 16 years, and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a range of commercial and business disputes. Mr. Benford has obtained numerous successful results at trial and through settlement during the pre-trial phase of litigation. Mr. Benford has an AV rating in skill and ethics (the highest rating attainable) in the prestigious lawyer-rating publication Martindale Hubbell and has been selected for the 2011 publication of Super Lawyers. Prior to starting his own practice, Mr. Benford worked for several prominent law firms, including one of the largest law firms in the United States. Mr. Benfords litigation and trial experience has been significant and diverse, and includes:

• Representing shareholders of corporations in the prosecution and defense of various disputes, including shareholder derivative actions, shareholder oppression, misappropriation of assets, corporate fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, and securities fraud.
• Prosecuting and defending claims based upon business torts, including unfair competition, tortious interference, civil fraud and deceit, civil theft, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and civil RICO.
• Representing plaintiffs and defendants in unfair competition-related claims, including misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of non-competition agreements, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and patent infringement.
• Representing parties in breach of contract actions, including contracts involving the sale of goods, intellectual property, and distribution and franchise-related agreements.
• Representing parties in real estate and construction-related disputes, including disputes arising from the sale of real estate, fraudulent real estate sales, commercial landlord-tenant matters, construction defects and related problems, construction delays, and breach of construction contracts.
• Representing both employers and employees in various disputes, including whistleblower actions, discrimination, and wage and compensation-related disputes.
• White collar crimes and consumer fraud.

During his career in litigation, Mr. Benford has helped recover tens of millions of dollars on behalf of clients in these types of disputes. Likewise, Mr. Benford has successfully defended clients in these same types of disputes from significant liability and exposure, as well as from criminal liability.