On October 11, 2017, in
Golisting.Com, Inc. v. Papera, No. 4D16-378, the Florida Fourth DCA reversed a trial court’s denial
of a prevailing plaintiff’s motion for enforcement of its proposal
for settlement and award of attorney’s fees. The plaintiff had issued
separate identical proposals for settlement to two defendants which stipulated
that the total sum that the plaintiff was seeking from both defendants
together was $40,000. The proposals for settlement additionally stipulated
that if both defendants tendered the $40,000, then the plaintiff would
return $20,000 to each defendant. After prevailing at trial, the plaintiff
sought attorney’s fees under section 768.79, Florida Statutes, and
the rule implementing it, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442. The trial
court denied the motion based on Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442(c)(3),
which requires joint proposals to state the amount and terms attributable
to each party. The Fourth DCA concluded that the proposals for settlement
sufficiently apportioned liability between the defendants.
