HUGO ESCALANTE, M.D., ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
ORLANDO DOPICO, ET AL., APPELLEES
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The court held that the trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees that exceeded the contingency fee agreement between the client and attorney.
An anesthesiologist appealed an adverse judgment and attorney's fees award in a medical malpractice case. The jury awarded over one million dollars in…
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PER CURIAM.
An anesthesiologist appeals from an adverse judgment and an award of attorney’s fees in a medical malpractice case. We reject all the appellant’s claims with reference to the malpractice judgment and affirm that award. However, we reverse the award of attorney’s fees for the following reason.
The jury awarded damages of just over one million dollars. A post-trial attorney’s fee hearing was held pursuant to section 768.56, Florida Statutes (1983) (repealed Ch. 85-175, § 43, Laws of Fla.). The trial court awarded a fee of $750,000. However, the unambiguous provisions of the contingency fee agreement between the •client and the attorney limited the fee to forty percent of the recovery.
Because of the existence of this contingent fee agreement, it was error for the court to award a fee which exceeded the fee agreement reached between the attorney and his client. Miami Children’s Hosp. v. Tamayo, 529 So. 2d 667 (Fla.1988); Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla.1985); see Perez-Borroto v. Brea, 544 So. 2d 1022 (Fla.1989); World Serv. Life Ins. Co. v. Bodiford, 537 So. 2d 1381 (Fla.1989).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Fla. Patient's Comp. Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985)
- Miami Child's. Hosp. v. Ulises Tamayo, 529 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 1988)
- Perez-Borroto v. Cesar Brea, M.D., 544 So. 2d 1022 (Fla. 1989)
- World Serv. Life Ins. Co. v. Bodiford, 537 So. 2d 1381 (Fla. 1989)