ANTHONY BRIAN BEVAN, AND JANE BEVAN, APPELLANTS,
v.
WILLIAM E. BEAN, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees and costs because there was no statutory basis under the applicable version of the statute.
Appellants sought relief from a final judgment awarding attorney's fees and costs to the appellee after their complaint was dismissed. The appellee so…
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PER CURIAM.
The appellants, Brian Bevan and Jane Be-van, seek relief from the final judgment awarding attorney’s fees and costs to the appellee, William Bean, following the dismissal of their third amended complaint. We reverse because there was no statutory basis supporting the trial court’s award of fees and costs.
The appellee seeks to sustain the trial court’s award under section 768.79, Florida Statutes (1991), which was in effect at the time he made his offer of judgment.1 We reject this argument because it is well-settled that we must apply the version of the statute in effect at the time a cause of action accrues. E.g., City of Punta Gorda v. Burnt Store Hotel, Inc., 650 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995).2 In this case, it is clear from a reading of the complaint that appellants’ causes of action accrued when the preamended version of section 768.79 was in effect. We have held that under this version, “[t]he plain language of the statute requires that there be a judgment rendered in favor of the plaintiff as a prerequisite to awarding costs and attorney’s fees to a defendant who has made an offer of judgment.” Kline v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 568 So. 2d 929, 930 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).
Accordingly, because a judgment was not rendered in favor of the appellants, the trial court had no statutory authority to award fees and costs to the appellee. We, therefore, reverse the trial court’s final judgment.
Reversed.
SCHOONOVER, A.C.J., and LAZZARA and WHATLEY, JJ„ concur. . Chapter 90-119, Laws of Florida, substantially rewrote this section, effective October 1, 1990.
. Moreover, even if we were to apply this statute, , we would still be required to reverse because the motion was not filed within 30 days after entry of the dismissed order as required by section 768.79(6).
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The Est. OF Philip J. Doyle v. Mariner Healthcare OF Nashville, Inc., 889 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)…d at 337. Because the pre-amendment version of the statute was in effect at the time the Estate’s cause of action accrued, it is applicable to this case. See Cenatus v. Naples Cmty. Hosp., Inc., 689 So. 2d 302, 304 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); Bevan v. Bean, 661 So. 2d 1251, 1252 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court did not err in instructing the jury. Regarding the other issues argued by the Estate, we affirm without discussion. Therefore, we affirm the final judgment and certify conflict…
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Lyle S. Saltzman, M.D., & Brevard Anesthesia Servs., P.A. v. Hadlock, 112 So. 3d 772 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013)…obtains a judgment at trial which is at least 25 percent less than the arbitration award.” § 44.103(6)(a), Fla. Stat. (2007). We apply the former version of the statute, as it was in effect at the time the cause of action accrued. See Bevan v. Bean, 661 So. 2d 1251, 1252 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995).…
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Bradley Constr. Co., Inc. v. Westburne Supply, Inc., 685 So. 2d 1353 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…s pursuant to this statute was untimely. The appellee should have filed its motion for fees within thirty days of the rendition of the final judgment in the trial court. See Bernstein v. Berrin, 516 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987), and Bevan v. Bean, 661 So. 2d 1251, 1252 n. 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). The trial court thus erred in awarding the appellee its section 768.79 fees under the circumstances of this case. Reversed. DANAHY, A.C.J., and CAMPBELL and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Kline v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 568 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- City OF Punta Gorda v. Burnt Store Hotel, Inc., 650 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)