RICHARD D. JACKSON, APPELLANT,
v.
THOMAS B. GRIFFITH, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees on the equitable principle of quantum meruit when it was not pleaded and the evidence was insufficient to amend the pleadings.
An attorney sued a client for $4,000 in fees based on a written agreement. The trial court found the agreement void due to coercion and duress but awa…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Duress cases and more on FLexlaw
BERANEK, Judge.
Appellee, Thomas B. Griffith, an attorney, sued appellant, Richard D. Jackson, for attorney’s fees in relation to a real estate transaction. The complaint was based solely on a written instrument signed by appellant, whereby he agreed to pay appellee a fee of $4,000. In its final judgment, the trial court found that the agreement was void because of coercion, duress, and threats directed by appellee against appellant at the time appellant signed the agreement. It was the view of the trial court that appellant would not have signed the document but for said coercion, duress, and threats. The court thus denied appellee’s claim for $4,000. However, the court awarded appellee $1,500 in attorney’s fees on the equitable principle of quantum me-ruit.
We reverse. Initially, we note that appellee did not allege quantum meruit or unjust enrichment in his complaint. Further, appellee did not make a motion to conform the pleadings to the evidence in accordance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(b). In any event, the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to permit an amendment of the pleadings.
We are also troubled by the court’s award of a fee based on the equitable doctrine of unjust enrichment following on the heels of its finding of coercion and duress. Certainly, an attorney displaying conduct sufficient to void an agreement in law should not be allowed to profit from his blatantly unprofessional conduct in equity.
REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO ENTER JUDGMENT FOR APPELLANT.
HERSEY and DELL, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Searcy v. Zbigniew Scheller, 629 So. 2d 947 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)…ectly presents that issue. We begin our analysis by distinguishing the circumstance where no valid fee agreement ever came into being because of misconduct by an attorney in procuring the agreement for representation. See e.g., Jackson v. Griffith, 421 So. 2d 677 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982) (attorney not entitled to fee under quantum meruit where fee agreement procured by coercion, duress and threats); Spence, Payne, Masington & Grossman P.A. v. Philip M. Gerson P.A., 483 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 492 S…
-
Lance Holding Co. v. Ashe, 533 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)…defendants were guilty of laches or waived the wrong, and they were fully justified in rescinding the employment contract. Nor are we willing to sustain the judgment below on a quantum meruit rationale for the reasons stated in Jackson v. Griffith, 421 So. 2d 677, 678 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982): “[A]n attorney displaying conduct sufficient to void an agreement in law should not be allowed to profit from his blatantly unprofessional conduct in equity.”2 See Fla.R.Prof.Conduct, 4-7.-1(a). In view of this determinatio…
-
LAW Offs. OF Theodore Goldberg & Carlos & Peidad Pachon v. Fazio, 659 So. 2d 1200 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…So. 2d 947 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), review denied, 649 So. 2d 870 (Fla.1994). Compare Spence, Payne, Masington & Grossman, P.A. v. Philip M. Gerson, P.A., 483 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), review denied, 492 So. 2d 1334 (Fla.1986); Jackson v. Griffith, 421 So. 2d 677 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982).…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence