Legal Malpractice in Florida and Marital Settlement Agreements

Many people get divorced, many people enter into marital settlement agreements, and a lot of people do not like their lawyers. What happens when the world of family law ,or marital settlement agreements, comes into the same world as legal malpractice? You should read Miller v. Finizio, an August 23,2017 Fourth DCA opinion.

In Miller v. Finizio, Georgeta Miller sues her family law attorneys for malpractice. One of Miller’s arguments was that “as a result of the defendant’s violation of the standard of care, she was damaged in that she relied upon the defendant’s advice and signed a highly disadvantageous agreement, resulting in a final judgment with much less favorable terms than would have otherwise been the case.” What did the Florida trial court decide? What did the Fourth DCA have to say about this? The Fourth DCA discussed whether or not the plaintiff’s complaint alleged each of the elements of a legal malpractice claim. Because her complaint did allege each element, “her voluntary acceptance of a settlement in the underlying dissolution case did not bar her legal malpractice claim, and her legal malpractice claim was not premature.” To read the entire opinion, click here.