Effective immediately, the Florida Supreme Court has amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 to clarify that you do not get an additional five days to respond to a proposal for settlement when the proposal is mailed. The ambiguity came about following the changes to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090 and Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.514(b). Florida Rule of… Read more
In a case seeking monetary and non-monetary relief, pursuant to section 768.79, Florida Statutes (2011), Diamond Aircraft served Horowitch with an offer of judgment for $40,000. The offer of judgment stated: Diamond Aircraft offers to settle this case on the following terms: 1. Diamond Aircraft shall pay Plaintiff the sum of forty thousand dollars ($40,000.00).… Read more
Per the Florida Supreme Court’s Order amending the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to implement service by email, the following rules have been updated: 1.080 Service of Pleadings, Orders, and Documents 1.170 Counterclaims and Crossclaims 1.351 Production of Documents and Things Without Deposition 1.410 Subpoena 1.440 Setting Action for Trial 1.442 Proposals for Settlement 1.510… Read more
In this Florida Supreme Court case, the Court addressed the following certified question: “Does Fla. Stat. § 768.79 apply to cases that are governed by the substantive law of another jurisdiction; and, if so, is this statute applicable even to controversies in which the parties have contractually agreed to be bound by the substantive laws… Read more
My colleague, Perry Adair, writes on Becker and Poliakoff’s Business Litigation Perspectives Blog, about a recent decision from the Fourth DCA regarding Proposals for Settlement: The Proposal summarized the contemplated release thusly: “[Jones] will execute a full release of liability in favor of Publix Supermarket Inc., a Florida Corporation and it’s [sic] affiliated insurance company, and… Read more
In this auto accident case, the defendant insurer hired two law firms: one to defend a claim for personal injury protection (PIP) and another to defend a claim for uninsured motorist benefits (UM). The law firm defending the UM claim served a proposal for settlement appearing to cover all claims. The trial court declined to award fees. … Read more
The Florida Supreme Court found that a joint offer of settlement cannot be conditioned on the mutual consent of all joint offerees. The case came before the Court after Attorneys’ Title served an offer of judgment on Plaintiffs Gorka and Larson. The offer was conditioned on the Plaintiffs mutual acceptance and neither party could independently… Read more
In this case, a property owner sued a homeowner’s association for injunctive and declaratory relief seeking access to a landlocked lot of land, as well as for damages for an alleged tortious interference of the owner’s attempt to sell the lot. The association successfully defended the case, and the trial court awarded attorneys’ fees based… Read more
In this personal injury case, the trial court denied plaintiff’s motion for attorneys’ fees pursuant to an offer of judgment because it did not include a certificate of service, although it was accompanied by a “Notice of Service of Proposal for Settlement” that did in fact include a proper certificate of service. Citing Campbell v.… Read more
In this case, there were two defendants. One defendant served an offer of judgment requesting a dismissal of both defendants in return for $5,000. The offer did not apportion the $5,000 offer between the two defendants. Defendants prevailed, and the trial court awarded attorneys’ fees. The Fourth District affirmed the fee award, holding that the offer… Read more