HOLLYWOOD LAKES COUNTRY CLUB, INC. AND E.M. SEAGALL, APPELLANTS,
v.
SILVER & WALDMAN, P.A., 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.
Hollywood Lakes Country Club and E.M. Seagall appealed the denial of their motion to transfer venue of an attorney's fees action from Dade County to Broward County. The court reversed, holding that the fee dispute constituted a compulsory counterclaim to the malpractice action filed first in Broward County and should be consolidated there.
The court held that the Dade action constitutes a compulsory counterclaim to the Broward malpractice action because both claims arise from the same transaction or occurrence—Silver's representation in the underlying litigation. Additionally, jurisdiction properly lies in Broward County where service of process was first perfected.
[1] A claim for attorney's fees arising from the same representation that is the subject of a legal malpractice action constitutes a compulsory counterclaim under Florida Rul…
[2] A court must transfer a case to another circuit court when the action constitutes a compulsory counterclaim and service of process was first perfected in the other circui…
Previewing 2 of 4 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“A pleading shall state as a counterclaim any claim which at the time of serving the pleader has against any opposing party, provided it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party's claim”
Establishes the compulsory counterclaim rule under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.170(a)
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSilver & Waldman represented HLCC, E.M. Seagall, and other parties in underlying Broward County litigation. On October 26, 1998, Security Professional…
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 Transaction Or Occurrence cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Hollywood Lakes Country Club, Inc. (HLCC) and E.M. Seagall appeal from the lower court’s order denying their request for change of venue. We reverse.
On October 26, 1998, Security Professionals, Inc., Coastline Communications Corp., and Sandy Seagall (none of which is a party to this appeal) filed a legal malpractice action in Broward County Circuit Court (“Broward action”) against appellee, Silver & Waldman, P.A. (Silver) and a second firm (also not a party to this ap peal). Both firms represented the above-named parties as well as HLCC and E.M. Seagall in the Broward County Circuit Court case from which the malpractice claim arose. Service was perfected on Silver in the Broward case on October 27, 1998. It was not until November 25, 1998 that HLCC and E.M. Seagall were declared party plaintiffs to the Broward action.
On October 29, 1998, Silver filed an action in Dade County Circuit Court (“Dade action”) to recover attorney’s fees from HLCC. (service was perfected upon HLCC on October 30, 1998). Silver contends that it represented only HLCC and E.M. Sea-gall, but no written fee agreement exists. There is a dispute as to whether Silver also represented Security Professionals, Coastline Communications and Sandy Sea-gall.
On November 19, 1998, six days prior to becoming party plaintiffs in the Broward action, HLCC and E.M. Seagall moved to transfer the Dade action to the Broward Circuit Court in order to join it with the pending malpractice case. That motion was denied, and this appeal followed.
HLCC and E.M. Seagall contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion to transfer the Dade action to the Broward Circuit Court because the Bro-ward action between HLLC and E.M. Se-gall and Silver was served first and because the Dade action is a compulsory counterclaim to the Broward case. We agree with appellants that the trial court erred in denying their motion to transfer. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.170(a) states, in pertinent part:
A pleading shall state as a counterclaim any claim which at the time of serving the pleader has against any opposing party, provided it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party’s claim ...
The malpractice sued upon in the Broward case and the attorney’s fees sued upon in the Dade case arose out of the same transaction or occurrence. Both the Dade case and the Broward case involve Silver’s representation of certain parties in the underlying litigation. Because the alleged malpractice occurred and the fees were incurred in the same case, the Dade case is a compulsory counterclaim to the Broward case. See Johnson v. Allen, Knudsen, DeBoest, Edwards & Rhodes, P.A., 621 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) (malpractice action and a fee dispute based upon the same representation invokes the compulsory counterclaim provision of Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.170(a)).
Additionally, jurisdiction over both actions lies in the circuit where service of process was first perfected. See Mabie v. Garden St. Management Corp., 397 So. 2d 920 (Fla.1981); Al Packer, Inc. v. First Union Nat’l Bank of Fla., 650 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). Service of process was first perfected on Silver in the Bro-ward case on October 27, 1998; Silver did not file the Dade action until October 29, 1998. Thus, the Dade case should be transferred to the Broward Circuit Court so that it can be consolidated with the Broward case as a compulsory counterclaim.
Reversed and remanded with instructions to transfer the Dade case to Broward Circuit Court to be joined with the previously filed case.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Riggins v. Rhoades, 373 So. 3d 655 (Fla. 6th DCA 2023)…es legal malpractice against the law firm, arises from the same transaction or occurrence as the attorney’s fees sued upon in the law firm’s complaint. It is, therefore, compulsory. See Hollywood Lakes Country Club, Inc. v. Silver & Waldman, P.A., 737 So. 2d 1194, 1195 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (“Because the alleged malpractice occurred and the fees were incurred in the same case, the Dade case is a compulsory counterclaim to the Broward case.” (citing Johnson, 621 So. 2d 507 (holding malpractice action and a fe…
-
Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. OF Am. v. Dynalectric Co., 23 So. 3d 1255 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…PER CURIAM. Based on the first-to-perfect rule, see, e.g., Hollywood Lakes Country Club, Inc. v. Silver & Waldman, P.A., 737 So. 2d 1194 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999), this cause is reversed, and remanded with instructions that the cause be transferred to the Broward County Circuit Court. Reversed and remanded with instructions.…
Authorities Cited
- Lefferts L. Mabie, Jr. v. Garden St. Mgmt. Corp., 397 So. 2d 920 (Fla. 1981)
- Johnson v. Allen, 621 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- AL Packer, Inc. v. First Union Nat'l Bank OF Fla. & Gary Connor, 650 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)