PROPOSALS FOR SETTLEMENT: When Giving In Doesn’t
Cut It
United
Auto. Ins. Co.v. John S. Virga, D.C., P.A., a/a/o Gaviria, --- So. 3d --- (Fla. 3d DCA July 24, 2013) is a case where the appellant
kept trying to confess error, but the confession was not accepted by the
circuit court appellate panel. The Third
District not only accepted it, but found that the circuit judges had departed
from the essential requirements of law.
The court found that it was error to deny appellate attorney’s fees
under the proposal for settlement statute, F.S. § 768.79. The circuit court read the language in the
statute “pursuant to a policy of liability insurance” in section 768.79(1) so
as to require a defendant-insurer “to refer to the policy provision providing
the substantive basis for fees.” However, this language relied upon by the
circuit court merely refers to third-party actions where the insurer seeks to
recover attorney’s fees based on an insurance policy provision requiring the
insurer to provide a legal defense for its insured. Section 768.79(1) does not
require a policy provision regarding
attorney’s fees in actions where, as here, the insurer is the defendant,
incurring attorney’s fees on its own behalf.
DEPOSITIONS
Marshall
v. Buttonwood Bay Condo. Ass’n, Inc., --- So.
3d --- (Fla. 3d DCA July 24, 2013)
quashed a protective order barring the defendant from deposing the Association’s
corporate representative simply because defendant had taken a deposition in
another pending action.
MIAMI ELECTIONS
Spence-Jones
v. Dunn, --- So. 3d --- (Fla. 3d DCA July 24, 2013) affirmed the
well-reasoned opinion of Judge Cueto that the commissioner was ineligible to
seek a third term, even though she had been temporarily suspended.
http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Opinions/3D13-1182.pdf
http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Opinions/3D13-1182.pdf
CONSTRUCTION WARRANTIES
Maronda
Homes, Inc. v. Lakeview Reserve Homeowners Ass'n, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 1430 (Fla.
July 11, 2013) held that the implied warranties of fitness and merchantability
applied to the improvements that provide essential services to Homeowners
Association and that F.S. § 553.835 does not apply to any causes of action that
accrued before the effective date of the section. That statute, applicable to “offsite
improvements,” had attempted to overturn the decision of the district court by making it apply retroactively.
The supreme court refused to do so.
Arsali
v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 1428 (Fla. July 11, 2013) held that
the inadequacy of the bid price does not need to be alleged and proved to set
aside a judicial foreclosure sale.
BANKING
Regions
Bank v. Maroone Chevrolet, L.L.C., 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 11234 (Fla. 3d DCA July
17, 2013) was an appeal of a judgment entered in favor of
Maroone after
InterAmerican Car Rental, Inc. went out of business. Maroone sued
InterAmerican's depository bank and financing banks claiming Regions Bank
accepted for deposit into InterAmerican's operating account a number of checks
made payable to both InterAmerican and Maroone, but were not properly endorsed
by Maroone. The opinion does not address why the bank was liable in the
first place when a number of prior checks were handled the same way, by
InterAmerican typing in the name of Maroone and cashing them without Maroone’s
endorsement, and Maroone never complained about this procedure until
InterAmerican went under and Maroone did not receive payment.
Wolfe
v. Foreman, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 11230 (Fla. 3d DCA July 17, 2013) held
that the litigation privilege, which protects actions taken in the course of
and related to a judicial proceeding from civil liability, applies to causes of
action for: (1) abuse of process; and (2) malicious prosecution. Here, the
attorneys withdrew as soon as they realized the client had misrepresented the
facts.
No comments:
Post a Comment