08 January

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Quick Note: Motion for Protective Order Reviewed Under Abuse of Discretion Standard of Review

The ruling on a motion for protective order is reviewed for abuse of discretion. An abuse of discretion occurs where the trial court's ruling is based on an erroneous view of the law or on a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence. Buzby v. Turtle Rock Community Association, Inc., 47 Fla. L. Weekly D99a (Fla. 2d DCA 2022) (internal quotations and citations omitted). In this case, discussed further here, an attorney being deposed on his own attorney’s fees moved for a protective order claiming he was entitled to be paid for his time as an expert witness. The trial court found the...

05 December

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Recovering Attorney’s Fees “Incurred” on Party’s Behalf

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Simply because a defendant does not pay his/her/its own attorney's fees does not mean the defendant is not entitled to recover attorney’s fees incurred on his/her/its behalf. That wouldn’t seem to make much sense since attorney's fees would have been incurred on the defendant’s behalf. Who actually writes the check to pay the attorney's fees is really of no moment, right? Therefore, do not bank your argument that another party will never be entitled to recover their fees because that other party did not personally pay for his/her/its own attorney's fees. This was the argument raised in Jain v. Buchanan...

14 November

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

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

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...

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...

25 April

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There can be a Winner for Prevailing Party Attorney’s Fees when Both Parties Lose

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

From reviewing prior articles on attorney’s fees, you know that to be deemed the prevailing party for purposes of attorney’s fees, particularly under a contractual based claim, a party needs to prevail on the significant issues in the case. What if a plaintiff has asserted a claim against a defendant and a defendant has a asserted a claim against the plaintiff and both parties LOSE on their affirmative claims? Can a party still be deemed to prevail on the significant issues in the case? That answer is yes based on the holding by the Second District Court of Appeals in Carrollwood...

11 April

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Attorney’s Fees and the “American Rule”

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Not every cause of action asserted gives rise to an argument to recover attorney’s fees. Florida follows what is known as the “American Rule” which is “attorney’s fees may be awarded by a court only when authorized by statute or agreement of the parties.” State Farm Fire & Casualty Co v. Palma., 629 So.2d 830, 833 (Fla. 1993); Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., N.A. v. Fitzgerald, 215 So.3d 116, 119 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (“It is well-established that attorney’s fees may not be awarded unless authorized by contract or statute.”); accord Attorney’s Title Ins. Fund, Inc., v. Landa-Posada,...

28 February

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Proposals for Settlements and Attaching Releases

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

I have discussed proposals for settlement (also known as offers of judgment) in a number of prior articles. A proposal for settlement is a procedural vehicle used to facilitate a settlement and create a basis to recover attorney’s fees from the date of the proposal on forward if the proposal for settlement is not accepted and the net judgment comes within a certain amount. Serving a proposal for settlement, and the strategic timing if one is served, should be discussed with your counsel. It should also be discussed with counsel the pros and cons of rejecting a proposal for settlement...

25 December

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Proposals for Settlement and Dismissals WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

I have talked about proposals for settlement in a number of prior postings. (See here, here, and here for a few of these postings.). Proposals for settlement are a vehicle to create an argument for attorney’s fees under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 and Florida Statute s. 768.79. A party receiving a proposal for settlement has 30 days to accept the proposal. If they do not, it triggers an argument to recover attorney’s fees from the date of the proposal for settlement on forward based on the amount of the recovered judgment. However, Florida cases have held that even if...

19 December

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Just because You Recovered an Affirmative Judgment does NOT Mean you Are the Prevailing Party for Purposes of Attorney’s Fees

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

The prevailing party in a litigation for purposes of being awarded attorney's fees is NOT determined by how the money flows at the conclusion of the litigation. In other words, just because you recovered an affirmative judgment does NOT mean you are the prevailing party for purposes of being entitled to attorney's fees. See Skylink Jets, Inc. v. Klukan, 45 Fla.L.Weekly D2829a (Fla. 4th DCA 2020). To be the prevailing party for purposes of being entitled to attorney's fees, a party must have prevailed on the significant issues in the litigation. Id. And a trial court has broad discretion to...

12 April

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Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees’ Expert when Attorney’s Fees are the Damages

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Generally, when an attorney is. awarded attorney's fees, there is a mini-evidentiary hearing to determine the "reasonableness" of those fees. Another lawyer--the reasonable attorneys' fees' expert--opines that the rate and hours expended are reasonable. The opposing party then has its own expert to opine otherwise. Fairly archaic and ridiculous in my opinion. Others may disagree. Nevertheless, the reasonable fees' expert is how it is done with another attorney testifying that the fees incurred by the prevailing lawyer were "reasonable" fees. What if fees are the actual damages? In a recent case, Law Offices of Granoff & Kessler, P.A. v. Glass, 45 Fla. L....

attorneys’ fees Tag