49 Fla. L. Weekly D845e STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. CHARLES FINSON, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D2022-2280. April 17, 2024. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Cynthia Newton, Judge. Counsel: Warren B. Kwavnick of Cooney Trybus Kwavnick Peets, Fort Lauderdale, for Appellant. Brian J. Lee of Morgan & Morgan, […]
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Real property — Deed — Rescission — Fraud — New trial — Inconsistent verdict — Trial court abused its discretion by granting plaintiff a new trial based on determination that verdict was internally inconsistent because some jurors were confused about verdict entered in favor of defendant and claimed that verdict rendered did not reflect jury’s intent — Jury’s finding that plaintiff had proved his rescission claim was not at odds with jury’s finding that defendants had proved their statute of limitations defense — Jury’s rejection of defendants’ other defenses was, likewise, not at odds with its finding that proven rescission claim was barred by applicable limitations period — As a matter of law, any misunderstanding or confusion jurors may have had at arriving at their collective verdict is inherent in jury’s internal deliberative process, which may not be challenged after verdict is rendered
49 Fla. L. Weekly D856a BLUE WATER COAST SERVICES, LLC and JACQUELINE HYATT, Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. DWIGHT MAIZE, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. 4th District. Case No. 4D2022-2522. April 17, 2024. Appeal and cross-appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; David A. Haimes, Judge; L.T. Case No. CACE16-017402. Counsel: Donna Greenspan Solomon of Solomon Appeals, […]
Arbitration — Award — Attorney’s fees — Prevailing party — Timeliness of motion — Successor judge erred by granting motion to clarify a nearly three-year-old final judgment and awarding appellees attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to section 682.15 based on finding that, because final judgment had granted appellees’ motion for summary judgment which had included a request for attorney’s fees, no additional notice or motion for seeking fees was required — Appellees were required to comply with the time requirements of rule 1.525 — No exception to the rule applied where final judgment contained no specific finding of entitlement to fees, and it did not reserve jurisdiction to address the matter — Court rejects argument that such language was unnecessary because final judgment granted all relief requested — Language of final judgment does not reflect such a broad finding — Fact that fees and costs were not mentioned in summary judgment hearing further supports conclusion that final judgment did not award entitlement to fees and costs — Final judgment could not be amended or altered to reflect an award of fees and costs pursuant to rule 1.530 or 1.540(b) because appellees’ motion to clarify was untimely — Judgment could not be amended pursuant to rule 1.540(a) because the failure to specifically determine entitlement to attorney’s fees and costs is not a clerical mistake
49 Fla. L. Weekly D850a LYONS HERITAGE OF TAMPA, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, Appellant, v. OLUROTIMI PHILLIPS and JACQUELINE PHILLIPS, Appellees. 2nd District. Case No. 2D2023-1313. April 17, 2024. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe, Judge. Counsel: Timothy Brown and Adam Bild of Bild Law, Lutz, for Appellant. […]
Attorney’s fees — Prevailing party — Amount — Contingency fee multiplier — Application of contingency risk multipler was not supported by competent substantial evidence demonstrating that relevant market required the application of a multiplier to incentivize effective counsel to undertake representation of plaintiff in action alleging that defendant violated Florida Consumer Practices Act and seeking declaration that defendant placed illegitimate lien on plaintiff’s worker’s compensation settlement proceeds — Remand solely for trial court to enter judgment that does not include application of the contingency fee multiplier
49 Fla. L. Weekly D887a FOOT & ANKLE CENTER OF FLORIDA, LLC, Appellant, v. CARLOS VARGAS, IV, Appellee. 6th District. Case No. 6D23-665. L.T. Case No. 2021-CA-002428. April 19, 2024. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Collier County. Lauren L. Brodie, Judge. Counsel: Christopher DeCosta, of Mahshie & DeCosta P.A., Fort Myers, for Appellant. Jordan […]
Attorney’s fees — Amount — Proposal for settlement — Fee agreements — Trial court erred in awarding defendant a fraction of the amount of trial attorney’s fees it sought pursuant to a rejected proposal for settlement and denying defendant’s request for appellate attorney’s fees based on determination that defendant’s attorneys were operating under a flat fee agreement — Regardless of fee arrangement between defendant and its attorneys, trial court was bound to award appellate attorney’s fees where appellate mandate did not afford trial court discretion to award less than a reasonable fee or deny appellate fees altogether — Alternative fee recovery provision in defendant’s master engagement agreement with its attorneys, which provided that attorneys would be entitled to the greater of either a specified fee if the fee is paid by the client, or a court-awarded reasonable fee if the fee is paid by a third party pursuant to section 768.79, was valid and enforceable — Court rejects argument that defendant’s counsel waived enforcement of master agreement because counsel preserved his privilege objection while advocating for a reasonable fee under the fee-shifting framework — By awarding defendant less than one-thirteenth of fees it sought, trial court required defendant to absorb enhanced hourly rate promised under alternative fee recovery provision, thereby shielding plaintiff and distorting the punitive objective of section 768.79 — Remand for award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including reasonable expert fee
49 Fla. L. Weekly D866a USAA CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. HEALTH DIAGNOSTICS OF FORT LAUDERDALE, LLC, etc., Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D22-2032. L.T. Case No. 14-5989 SP. April 17, 2024. An appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Linda Melendez, Judge. Counsel: Dutton Law Group, P.A., Rebecca Delaney, Anthony L. Tolgyesi, and […]