Clear Answers and a Plan for Your Contract and Vendor Disputes

A vendor dispute happens when a supplier, contractor, or service provider says your business owes money, or when your business says a vendor did not deliver as agreed. KEW Legal helps business owners and investors in Miami-Dade and South Florida review the contract, the records, and the options before anyone files a lawsuit. This page explains what that work covers, how it moves forward, and the mistakes that weaken a business’s position.

What a Vendor Dispute Is and Who This Service Is For

A vendor dispute is a disagreement over money, goods, or work between a business and a company it buys from or hires. Common examples include:

• Unpaid invoices for goods or services
• Disputed charges or unexpected price increases
• Late, short, or defective deliveries
• Unfinished or poor-quality work by a contractor
• A vendor demanding payment your business believes it does not owe

This service fits owners, managers, and investors with supplier, contractor, or service-provider relationships in Miami-Dade, Broward, Coral Gables, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Doral, Brickell, and Fort Lauderdale.

Your business may be the one owed money or the one being pursued. The first steps differ for each side. A business owed money usually needs a clear written demand. A business being pursued needs to know what the contract says before it pays, withholds, or responds. If a matter falls outside this practice, it may be referred to another lawyer or firm.

What the Service Covers

The work covers three things: the paperwork that shows what was agreed, the letters that move the dispute forward, and a court claim if one is needed. Specifically, it includes:

• Review of the vendor agreement, purchase orders, invoices, statements of work, emails, texts, and payment records
• Demand letters for unpaid amounts and cease-and-desist letters for conduct your business wants stopped
• Responses to demands and claims made against your business
• Negotiation of payment plans, settlements, and written releases
• Mediation preparation when a case is referred to mediation
• Filing or defending a breach of contract claim in Florida courts when negotiation does not resolve the matter
• Advice on whether to pay, withhold, or keep performing while the dispute is open

How the Process Works and What to Expect

Most vendor disputes move through the same stages, in this order:

1. First consultation. The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue. We review the dispute and key papers at a high level.
2. Document review. We set out your business’s position, the vendor’s likely position, and the gaps in the evidence.
3. Demand or response letter. The letter states the amount, the basis for it, and a deadline to respond.
4. Negotiation or mediation. The goal is a written resolution. On a party’s request, Florida courts must send filed damages cases to mediation under Florida law, provided the requesting party is willing and able to pay the costs or the costs can be equitably divided between the parties. There are exceptions. These include cases filed to collect a debt, landlord and tenant disputes without a personal injury claim, cases under the Florida Small Claims Rules, and cases where the parties agreed to binding arbitration, an expedited trial, or voluntary trial resolution.
5. Court, if needed.

Timelines depend on the contract, the amount, the vendor’s response, and court schedules. The consultation is where the likely sequence gets mapped out.

Contract Terms That Decide Vendor Payment Disputes

Payment, notice, and delivery terms often decide which side has the stronger position. Key terms include:

• Judgment interest. In Florida, the rate on judgments is set quarterly, but a rate set by written contract is not affected.
• Notice and cure clauses. These often control whether a party can withhold payment or end the deal.
• Acceptance and inspection terms. Under Florida’s sale-of-goods rules, acceptance can happen after a reasonable chance to inspect the goods.
• Attorney’s fee clauses. These can cut either way. Under Florida’s fee-shifting rule, a fee clause can let the other side recover fees when it prevails on the contract.
• Written terms. For a sale of goods priced at $500 or more, a contract generally needs a signed record. Fla. Stat. § 672.201 lists exceptions.

Common Mistakes That Weaken a Business’s Position

The most damaging mistakes are usually missing paperwork, unclear partial payments, and ignored notices. Watch for these:

• Relying on verbal promises or texts. For contracts for goods priced at $500 or more, a written confirmation sent between merchants can count as a signed record if it is received within a reasonable time and the receiver has reason to know its contents, unless the receiver objects in writing within 10 days after receiving it. Read vendor confirmations right away.
• Paying part of a disputed invoice without saying in writing that the rest is still in dispute.
• Missing the notice deadline for goods. After accepting goods, a buyer must notify the seller of a breach within a reasonable time after it discovers or should have discovered the breach, or it may be barred from any remedy.
• Withholding payment without checking whether the contract allows it.
• Sending angry emails or public posts. These can give the other side material for counterclaims.
• Waiting too long. Records disappear, and people leave the business.

Why Work With KEW Legal on a Vendor Dispute

KEW Legal focuses on business law for owners and investors in Miami-Dade and South Florida. Vendor disputes are one part of that work.

• Outside general counsel model. The business has one point of contact for contract questions that come up over time, not only when a dispute starts.
• Responsible lawyer. Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this practice.
• Support staff. Our team keeps files, deadlines, and correspondence organized.
• Offices. We have offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach and work with business owners across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
• Related matters. Learn more at /resources/business-contract-vendor-disputes/.

Every dispute turns on its own facts, so no two matters follow the same path.

Frequently Asked Questions About Vendor Disputes

Talk to KEW Legal About Your Vendor Dispute

An unpaid invoice or a vendor’s demand letter leaves your business weighing whether to pay, dispute, or wait. That decision is easier with the contract and records reviewed side by side. Reach out through our contact page, send us your case details, or call 305-990-2300 to set up your consultation with Kristina E. Wilson at our Coral Gables or Sunny Isles Beach office.