47 Fla. L. Weekly D1163a ALDO GABRIEL AMENTA POZANCO, Appellant, v. FJB 6501, INC., Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D20-1734. L.T. Case No. 18-42369. June 1, 2022. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Reemberto Diaz, Judge. Counsel: Wald, Gonzalez & Graff, P.A., and Estrella F. Gonzalez; Harris Appeals, P.A., and Andrew A. Read More »
Articles
Torts — Attorney’s fees — Proposal for settlement — Validity — Good faith — Trial court abused its discretion by awarding plaintiff attorney’s fees and costs based on defendant’s rejection of proposal for settlement which required defendant to pay over a million dollars in cash within thirty days — Proposal for settlement was not made in good faith — Specific requirement that defendant actually make payment to effectuate acceptance made offer illusory as there was no real possibility defendant could accept — Proposal would have been valid if it allowed acceptance by agreeing to an entry of judgment against defendant or by allowing defendant to sign a promissory note
47 Fla. L. Weekly D1121a STATE FARM AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. JAMES LIGHTFOOT and MARILYN ROSEANNE HUNT, Appellees. 1st District. Case No. 1D20-2285. MARILYN ROSEANNE HUNT, Appellant, v. JAMES LIGHTFOOT and STATE FARM AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellees. Case No. 1D20-2303. May 25, 2022. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County. Katie L. Read More »
Civil rights — Administrative law — Disability discrimination — COVID-19 — Mask policies — Dismissal — Disability discrimination complaint alleging that defendant failed to make reasonable modifications to accommodate plaintiff’s disability by exempting plaintiff from defendant’s face-covering policy during COVID-19 pandemic — Commission on Human Relations erred by dismissing complaint based on plaintiff’s failure to allege how plaintiff was denied services since plaintiff did not visit defendant’s public accommodation — Plaintiff was not required to allege that he was denied services during a visit to place of public accommodation — Once a plaintiff has actually become aware of discriminatory conditions existing at a public accommodation, and is thereby deterred from visiting or patronizing that accommodation, the plaintiff has suffered an injury — Because plaintiff plausibly alleged that he was aware of discriminatory conditions at defendant’s public accommodation, and that the denial of his request for a modification deterred him from visiting or patronizing that accommodation, the dismissal was improper
47 Fla. L. Weekly D1119a AARON ABADI, Appellant, v. WALT DISNEY WORLD PARKS & RESORTS, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D21-3749. May 25, 2022. On appeal from Florida Commission on Human Relations. Cheyanne M. Costilla, Executive Director. Counsel: Aaron Abadi, pro se, Appellant. Audrey Pumariega Angulo, Miami, for Appellee. (PER CURIAM.) This is an appeal Read More »
Insurance — Automobile liability — Settlement agreement — Validity — Disclosure statement — Verification — Trial court erred by determining that there was no settlement agreement between between insurer and plaintiff who was injured by insured vehicle as a matter of law based on fact that insurer’s information disclosure, which was certified as being true by claims manager “under penalty of perjury,” did not comply with technical requirement in section 627.4137 that it be under oath — Under section 92.525, a document verified as being true “under penalty of perjury” qualifies as a statement under oath for purposes of satisfying verification requirement of section 627.4137 — Valid settlement agreement was formed where insurer undisputedly accepted plaintiff’s offer on terms presented, and insurer paid plaintiff’s disputed claim — Insurer’s payment of claim at plaintiff’s demand was consideration for plaintiff’s promise to execute a release of the insureds where insurer had no legal obligation to pay plaintiff’s disputed injury and loss claim — Furthermore, any technical compliance by insurer with preexisting statutory obligation was not part of the parties’ bargain and is not relevant to question of whether settlement agreement exists
SINOEUN KOUNG, LORM SOUN, and LEANG VE, Appellants, v. MICHAEL GIORDANO and MELISSA CHEVALIER, Appellees. 1st District. Case No. 1D20-724. May 25, 2022. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County. Adrian G. Soud, Judge. Counsel: Raymond L. Roebuck and Brian M. Guter of O’Hara Law Firm, Jacksonville, for Appellants. Martin H. Sitler and Read More »
Rules of Civil Procedure — Amendment — Proposals for settlement — Form and content
47 Fla. L. Weekly S137a IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 1.442. Supreme Court of Florida. Case No. SC21-277. May 26, 2022. Original Proceeding — Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. Counsel: Jason P. Stearns, Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Tampa, Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, and Mikalla Andies Davis, Staff Liaison, The Read More »