Resolve Contract and Vendor Disputes Before They Stall Your Business

A business contract and vendor dispute starts when your company and a supplier or service provider disagree about what your agreement requires. KEW Legal is a business contract and vendor dispute law firm Miami businesses can reach from offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. The firm serves business owners and investors across Miami-Dade and Broward County. Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page. Below, you’ll find what these disputes involve, how the work moves forward, and how to get started.

What a Business Contract and Vendor Dispute Involves

A business contract and vendor dispute is a disagreement over what an agreement requires between a company and a supplier, service provider, or other business partner. The agreement can be written, partly written, or spoken. Most disputes come down to one question: who owes what, and by when?

Common triggers include:

• Unpaid or disputed invoices
• Late, short, or defective deliveries
• Missed deadlines or unfinished work
• Disagreements over price or the scope of the job
• Fights over whether a contract was properly ended

These disputes hit cash flow fast. One unpaid invoice can stall payroll, inventory, or a lease payment. Owners and managers of Miami-Dade and Broward businesses face these problems often. Investors who hire vendors to run or maintain their property do too.

What the Practice Covers

The practice starts with the paper trail, then looks at what the business can do next. A typical file includes the contract, purchase orders, invoices, emails, texts, and delivery or performance records.

Services include:

• Reviewing those records to find obligations, deadlines, notice requirements, and remedies
• Analyzing breach claims and payment terms
• Reading limitation-of-liability clauses (caps on how much one side can recover) and indemnity clauses (promises to cover certain losses)
• Checking termination clauses and dispute-resolution terms
• Drafting demand letters and responses
• Negotiating payment plans, cure periods (extra time to fix a problem), or amended terms
• Advising on mediation or arbitration when the contract calls for it
• Representing the business in court when negotiation does not resolve the matter
• Drafting and reviewing new vendor agreements to reduce future disputes
• Serving as outside general counsel, an ongoing lawyer for businesses with recurring vendor relationships

How the Process Works

The process moves in clear stages. Each stage depends on what the documents show.

1. First consultation. You describe the dispute. The lawyer reviews the key documents at a high level.
2. Document review. You receive a written view of your position, the other side’s likely arguments, and your options.
3. Pre-suit steps. These may include a demand letter, a negotiated settlement, or a formal notice of breach, depending on what the contract requires.
4. Mediation, arbitration, or litigation. If earlier steps fail, the matter may move to mediation, arbitration, or a Florida court. You stay informed at each stage.

Timelines vary with the contract terms, the amount in dispute, and the other side’s response. A realistic schedule is set after the review.

Some contracts let the side that must enforce them recover attorney’s fees. Florida law lets the court allow reasonable fees to the other party that prevails, under Fla. Stat. § 57.105. Fla. Stat. § 57.105 reads: “If a contract contains a provision allowing attorney’s fees to a party when he or she is required to take any action to enforce the contract.” Check your contract for a fee clause before the first meeting.

Why Work With KEW Legal on a Vendor Dispute

KEW Legal concentrates in business law, with offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. The firm works with business owners and investors on contracts, vendor disputes, partnership issues, and outside general counsel work.

• Responsible lawyer: Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page and the vendor matters it describes.
• Support staff: The practice’s assistants and office staff handle scheduling, document organization, and client communication.
• Ongoing counsel: For businesses with frequent vendors, outside general counsel means one lawyer who reviews your agreements over time.
• Approach: Early review looks for a path that fits your goals and budget. You make the decision on how to proceed.

Questions Business Owners Ask Before Calling

Check the contract’s terms before you hold back any payment.

Should I stop paying my vendor during the dispute?

Not until you check the contract. Florida law says a buyer must pay the contract rate for goods it accepted, under Fla. Stat. § 672.607.

Is a verbal deal enforceable?

Often it is not, for goods. Florida generally requires a signed record for a sale of goods priced at $500 or more, under Fla. Stat. § 672.201.

Do emails and texts count?

Florida law provides that, unless otherwise provided by law, an electronic signature may be used to sign a writing and has the same force and effect as a written signature, under Fla. Stat. § 668.004.

Do I have to go to court?

Not always. Florida treats a written agreement to arbitrate as generally valid and enforceable, under Fla. Stat. § 682.02. Florida courts must also refer many money-damages lawsuits to mediation on a party’s request, if the requesting party is willing and able to pay the mediation costs or the costs can be equitably divided between the parties, with listed exceptions, under Fla. Stat. § 44.102. Fla. Stat. § 44.102 reads: “(2) A court, under rules adopted by the Supreme Court: (a) Must, upon request of one party, refer to mediation any filed civil action for monetary damages, provided the requesting party is willing and able to pay the costs of the mediation or the costs can be equitably divided between the parties, unless: 1.”

Can I recover lost profits?

That depends on the contract language and the facts. The lawyer reviews both at the first consultation.

Is the first consultation free?

The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Common Mistakes That Make Vendor Disputes Harder

The costliest mistakes are missing a deadline and putting admissions in writing. Early review helps you avoid both.

• Missing a notice deadline. For goods you have accepted, you must notify the seller of the breach within a reasonable time after you discover or should have discovered the breach, or you can be barred from any remedy, under Fla. Stat. § 672.607.
• Accepting goods without a clear record. Accepting goods precludes rejecting them, and the buyer carries the burden to prove a breach on accepted goods.
• Relying on a shortened deadline. A contract term that sets a shorter time to sue than the statute allows is void, under Fla. Stat. § 95.03.
• Waiting too long. Florida sets time limits to sue.
• Ignoring the vendor’s confirmation. Between merchants, extra terms in a confirmation can become part of the contract unless the offer expressly limits acceptance to its terms, the terms materially alter it, or notice of objection to them has already been given or is given within a reasonable time after notice of them is received, under Fla. Stat. § 672.207.
• Sending casual messages. A quick text that admits fault or agrees to new terms can hurt your position.
• Discarding records. Keep emails, texts, delivery receipts, and invoices. They show performance or breach.

Start Your Vendor Dispute Review

Early review gives you more time to act before deadlines run. Bring the signed contract, invoices, and correspondence to your first conversation.

If your vendor has stopped performing or an unpaid invoice is tying up your cash, contact KEW Legal, call 305-990-2300, or send a message to set up your first meeting.