DONALD ROGERS, APPELLANT,
v.
CONCRETE SCIENCES, INC., AND LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEES
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In a workers' compensation case, the Florida First District Court of Appeal affirmed the Deputy Commissioner's denial of an attorney's motion to enforce a settlement agreement where the claimant had died before the attorney purported to accept the employer-carrier's settlement offer. The court held that the attorney lacked authority to accept the offer after the client's death.
The attorney lacked authority to accept the settlement offer after the client's death because the death of a client terminates the attorney-client relationship and extinguishes the attorney's authority. Additionally, under Florida Statutes Section 440.20(10), a settlement agreement is not final and enforceable until approved by the Deputy Commissioner, and either party may legally withdraw prior to such approval.
[1] A workers' compensation settlement agreement is not final and enforceable until approved by the Deputy Commissioner.
[2] Either party may withdraw from a workers' compensation settlement agreement prior to the Deputy Commissioner's approval.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Under Section 440.20(10), Florida Statutes (1978), a lump sum settlement agreement between an employer-carrier and the claimant is not final and enforceable until or unless it has been approved by the Deputy Commissioner.”
Establishes the statutory requirement for workers' compensation settlements to be approved by the Deputy Commissioner before becoming enforceable.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceClaimant Rogers was injured in a workplace accident on September 26, 1978. On February 4, 1980, the employer-carrier made a written settlement offer. …
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MILLS, Chief Judge.
We affirm the Deputy Commissioner’s denial of claimant’s attorney’s Motion to Enforce Settlement.
The relevant facts in this case are not in dispute. Claimant Rogers was injured in an accident on 26 September 1978. On 4 February 1980, the employer-carrier made an offer to settle the claim. The claimant died on 12 February 1980 and eight days later claimant’s attorney accepted the settlement offer on behalf of the claimant and his estate.
Under Section 440.20(10), Florida Statutes (1978), a lump sum settlement agreement between an employer-carrier and the claimant is not final and enforceable until or unless it has been approved by the Deputy Commissioner. Brantley v. A. D. H. Building Contractors, Inc., 215 So. 2d 297 (Fla.1968). Either party may legally withdraw from a settlement agreement pri-or to the Deputy Commissioner’s approval.
The second basis for our affirmance is on grounds not raised by the parties. Claimant’s attorney urges that under the general principles of contract law, workers’ compensation law aside, a settlement agreement in writing should be enforced. We fail to concur with the basic premise of this contention that there was a contract. The facts establish that the client died after the written offer was made by the employer-carrier but before the offer was accepted. The death of a client terminates the relationship between the attorney and client and the attorney’s authority to act by virtue thereof is extinguished. Bee Construction Corp. v. Gonzalez, 383 So. 2d 1093 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). See also Brickell v. McCaskell, 106 So. 470, 90 Fla. 441 (1925). Thus, the attorney here had no authority to accept the offer under the circumstances.
We are aware of Section 709.01, Florida Statutes (1978), which makes lawful any act by an attorney for the principal that would have been lawful if the principal were still living, but that statute is applicable only when the attorney did not know of the principal’s death at the time the action was taken. The facts of this case show that the attorney knew of the client’s death at the time he purported to accept the offer. AFFIRMED.
ROBERT P. SMITH and WENTWORTH, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Glenny Bingham as widow of Franklin Bingham v. Fla. Chip Steak Co. & Iowa Nat'l Mut. Ins. Co., 496 So. 2d 950 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…y, as Franklin’s widow, filed a petition to enforce the settlement agreement. The petition was denied. This case is controlled by this court’s decisions in Russell v. Bass, 107 So. 2d 281 (Fla. 1st DCA 1958), and Rogers v. Concrete Sciences, Inc., 394 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), both of which held that a lump-sum settlement agreement between the E/C and the claimant is not final and enforceable until or unless it has been approved by the deputy commissioner. See also Brantley v. ADH Building Contractors…
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Wallace v. Keldie, 249 So. 3d 747 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)
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Smith v. Rose Auto Stores & Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 596 So. 2d 809 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)…he settlement agreement. We reject her argument for the following reasons. The law is well settled that a settlement agreement is not final and enforceable until it is approved by the judge of compensation claims. Rogers v. Concrete Sciences, Inc., 394 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). The responsibility of the judge in considering a settlement agreement is not to perform a perfunctory, mechanical act. Brantley v. A.D.H. Building Contractors, Inc., 215 So. 2d 297 (Fla.1968). Rather, section 440.20(12), Florida…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Brantley v. A D H Bldg. Contractors, Inc., 215 So. 2d 297 (Fla. 1968)
- Maude E. Brickell v. McCaskill, 90 Fla. 441 (Fla. 1925)
- BEC Constr. Corp. & Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Luis Gonzalez (Deceased) and Eufelia Gonzalez, 383 So. 2d 1093 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)