Florida Attorneys Fees & “Offer of Judgment” Statute — how to get attorneys fees if the other side refuses and offer to settle

Uncategorized • Apr 22, 2014

Attorneys fees in a Palm Beach estate lawsuit can become an important part of your trial strategy. After all, you don’t want your attorneys fees to approach the amount of your damages, right? Unless, you are confident that you have a chance to get the other side to pay your attorneys fees. In the Florida Probate Code and the Florida Trust Code, many Palm Beach probate litigation law firms know that there are so called “fee shifting ” statutes which can permit a Probate Court to award attorneys fees & cost to the winning side. Probate Court judges can also decrease someone’s inheritance by the amount of the winning side’s attorneys fees. But this is about another fee shifting statute which is often referred to as the “offer of judgment” statute by Palm Beach trial lawyers. If you are involved in Palm Beach probate litigation, you may want to read this case.

Florida Statute 768.79 provides for recovery of your attorneys fees from the other side under certain circumstances.
To be overly broad: if a party to a Palm Beach lawsuit makes an offer of judgment, or to settle, with the other side and the other side rejects it, then, under certain limited circumstances, if you “win”, you can get your fees paid for. …by the losing side which rejected the offer.
Also, look at Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.442.

No Bad Faith

So, why wouldn’t you just offer to settle with the other side for, say, $1?
Well, that’s good point. The offer is supposed to be in good faith.
But this recent case says that making an offer of a nominal amount is not per se bad faith.

If you want to read the entire Florida appeals court opinion, it’s State Farm Ins. Co. v. Reyes, 39 FLW D 657 (Fla. 3rd DCA, March 26, 2014).

While there are a number of limitations on this statute and Florida rule, those involved in Palm Beach probate litigation should consider whether this rule and statute is applicable and if it makes sense.