Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund, Inc. v. Gorka, 35 Fla. L. Weekly S196 (Fla. April 1, 2010)

By Brian Willis on April 7, 2010 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 accept the offer. The Fla. Sup. Ct. concluded that such mutual proposals are invalid since neither party can exercise independent control over the decision to end litigation.

The case discusses the requirements for a proposal or offer of judgment pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.442 and Section 768.79, Fla. Stat. and has an interesting discussion about the effect of the OJ statute:

The expected result of the attorneys' fee sanction was to reduce litigation costs and conserve judicial resources by encouraging the settlement of legal actions. See Sarkis v. Allstate Ins. Co., 863 So. 2d 210, 218 (Fla. 2003). The effect, however, has been in sharp contrast to the intended outcome because the statute and rule have seemingly increased litigation as parties dispute the respective validity and enforceability of these offers. See, e.g., Security Professionals, Inc. v. Segall, 685 So. 2d 1381, 1384 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) ("We regret that this case is just one more example of the offer of judgment statute causing a proliferation of litigation, rather than fostering its primary goal to "terminate all claims, end disputes, and obviate the need for further intervention of the judicial process."")

0 TrackBacks

Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund, Inc. v. Gorka, 35 Fla. L. Weekly S196 (Fla. April 1, 2010).

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://reporter.floridacivpro.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/190

This page contains a single entry by Brian Willis published on April 7, 2010 10:17 PM.

Neiman v. Naseer, 35 Fla. L. Wkly D625 (Fla. 4th DCA Mar. 17, 2010) was the previous entry in this blog.

Toledo v. Publix Supermarkets Inc., 35 Fla. L. Wkly D747 (Fla. 4th DCA March 31, 2010) is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Brian Willis is licensed to practice law in Florida. He is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff in the firm's Tampa Bay office, which is located at 311 Park Place Blvd., Suite 250, Clearwater, FL 33759.

Jason Baruch is licensed to practice law in Florida. He is an attorney with Trenam Kemker in the firm's Tampa Bay office, which is located at 101 E. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 2700, Tampa, FL 33602.

Disclaimer – This website is prepared and maintained by Brian Willis. The text of the rules has been compiled from the Rules of Civil Procedure available on the Florida Bar's Website. All information contained herein is presented in good faith and subject to change, errors, and omissions at any time. Accuracy and reliability of such information is neither guaranteed nor warranted. This web site information is provided on an "as is" basis. The user expressly agrees that the use of www.floridacivpro.com is at the user's sole risk. FloridaCivPro.com is not an official Florida government web site. It is for informational purposes only and is not meant to constitute the giving of legal advice. If you need a lawyer in Florida, please contact The Florida Bar's Lawyer Referral Service. Comments? Suggestions? Mistakes? email: willisb at gmail.com.

Powered by Movable Type Publishing Platform

Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund, Inc. v. Gorka, 35 Fla. L. Weekly S196 (Fla. April 1, 2010)

Tags:

0 TrackBacks

Leave a comment

Search the Florida Rules Decisions

Search the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

Contact the Authors

Share & Follow

About this Entry