14 November

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Attorney’s Fees do Not have to be Quantified in Proposal for Settlement

Does a proposal for settlement have to specifically quantify the amount of attorney’s fees if the proposal wants to factor the other party’s attorney’s fees into the equation? According the recent opinion in Safepoint Insurance Co. v. Williams, 46 Fla. L. Weekly D2406b (Fla. 3d DCA 2021), the answer is No. The proposal can leave it up to the court (per a fee hearing) where the fees plus the judgment amount get factored in to determine whether that amount meets the proposal for settlement threshold for entitlement to attorney’s fees. In Safepoint Insurance Co., the defendant served a proposal for settlement...

31 October

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Dismissal of Complaint (Action under Florida’s Public Whistleblower Act) for Failure to State Cause of Action

Posted by David Adelstein

in Standard of Review, Trial Perspectives

A trial court’s dismissal of a complaint for failure to state a cause of action is reviewed under a de novo standard. Henley v. City of North Miami, 46 Fla.L.Weekly D2296c (Fla. 3d DCA 2021). An example of a trial court dismissing a complaint for the failure of the plaintiff to state a cause of action can be found in Henley where the trial court dismissed with prejudice the plaintiff’s claim under Florida’s Public Whistleblower Act per Florida Statute s. 112.3187. In this case, a public employee (plaintiff) alleged that he was terminated after sending emails and texts to the City...

17 October

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Duty Element of Negligence – Did Defendant’s Conduct Foreseeably Create Broader Zone of Risk

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

In any negligence action, the first element a plaintiff needs to prove is that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. Lee v. Harper, 46 Fla.L.Weekly D2251a (Fla. 1st DCA 2021). This duty element is a threshold legal question or a question of law. Id. “The duty element of negligence focuses on whether the defendant’s conduct foreseeably created a broader ‘zone of risk’that poses a general threat of harm to others.” Id. (quotations and citations omitted). The issue is not whether the harm in question was foreseeable but the “defendant’s conduct must create the risk or control the...

10 October

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Trier of Fact Determines Weight of the Evidence

Posted by David Adelstein

in greater weight of the evidence, Trial Perspectives

Just because there was conflicting evidence does not mean a new trial is warranted or the trier of fact got it wrong. It just means the trier of fact weighed that conflicting evidence differently then you. This is permissible because it is up to the trier of fact to determine the weight to be given to the evidence. Trials are filled with conflicting evidence and he said/she said testimony. This is why there is a dispute. The determination of who is right and who is wrong based on this conflicting evidence and the weight to be given to the evidence...

02 October

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Oops! I Sued the Wrong Party and Need to Amend the Complaint AFTER the Expiration of the Statute of Limitations

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

If you incorrectly sue the wrong party and need to amend to substitute the correct party after the statute of limitations, there is an argument the amendment will relate back to the timely filing of the initial complaint. This means, with the relation back of the amended complaint to the initial complaint, that the amended complaint was timely filed and the expiration of the statute of limitations does not apply. In Friedel v. Edwards, 46 Fla.L.Weekly D2125a (Fla. 2d DCA 2021), a plaintiff sued a defendant stemming from a car accident. However, the defendant had died so the plaintiff moved to...

26 September

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Declaratory Judgment / Relief Considerations

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Trial Perspectives

There are a number of lawsuits where a party will assert a claim for declaratory judgment/relief. This is a claim oftentimes included in insurance coverage disputes, but is also asserted in a plethora of other types of civil disputes where a party asks the trial court to issue a declaration. To be legally sufficient, a complaint for declaratory relief must allege that: (1) there is a bona fide dispute between the parties; (2) the plaintiff has a justiciable question as to the existence or nonexistence of some right, status, immunity, power or privilege, or as to some fact upon which existence of...

19 September

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Affidavit Used to Support or Defend Against Summary Judgment

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

I recently discussed a case found here where the appellate court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff finding that the affidavit proffered by the defendant did NOT create a genuine issue of material fact. A major reason the appellate court affirmed summary judgment is because an affidavit cannot be based on hearsay. The affidavit MUST be based on personal knowledge that is more than conclusory in nature and lays a factual predicate. This is important to remember when moving for summary judgment and defending against a summary judgment to ensure your affidavits are done correctly and you are...

06 September

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Calculating the Judgment Obtained in Determining Proposals for Settlement

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

There are numerous prior postings discussing proposals for settlement / offers of judgment. As discussed, they create an argument to recover attorney’s fees from the date of the proposal on forward. A recent case discusses the thorny issues of determining whether the “judgment obtained” by the plaintiff meets the threshold to recover attorney’s fees when serving a proposal for settlement under Florida Statute s. 768.79. In this case, the plaintiff served a proposal for settlement on March 21, 2019. The defendant did not accept the proposal. The case proceeded to trial and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the...

29 August

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Establishing Punitive Damages Against a Corporation

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Standard of Review

“In Florida, there are two methods for establishing a claim for punitive damages against a corporation: ‘(1) vicarious liability based on the willful and malicious actions of an employee with a finding of independent negligent conduct by the corporation; or (2) direct liability based on the willful and malicious actions of managing agents of the corporation.’" Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Electronic Funds Transfer Corp., 46 Fla.L.Weekly D1824e (Fla. 5th DCA 2021) In Wells Fargo Bank, a defendant bank was being sued for punitive damages. At the conclusion of the evidence, the defendant bank moved for a directed verdict as to the...