CORVETTE SHOP & SUPPLIES, INC., AND DANIEL MORGAN, APPELLANTS,
v.
EMMA LOU COGGINS AND SUSAN COGGINS, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 2000-12-15
No. 2D99-3405
ALTENBERND, A.C.J., and DAVIS, J., Concur.
779 So. 2d 529 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2000) Caution
Cited by 9 cases

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.

Synopsis

Corvette Shop & Supplies and Daniel Morgan appealed a judgment in favor of Emma Lou Coggins and Susan Coggins for deceptive trade practices and negligent misrepresentation, as well as an attorney's fees award. The Florida appellate court affirmed the judgment and the attorney's fees award but reversed the application of a contingency risk multiplier to the fees.


Holding

Attorney's fees may be awarded under section 501.2105 even where the contingency fee agreement was signed after trial but before final judgment, as the rule protecting clients is not intended to shield a nonprevailing party from paying attorney's fees. The contingency risk multiplier should not be applied to attorney's fees awards based on section 501.2105, which provides for a reasonable attorney's fee based on hours actually spent on the case.


Headnotes

[1] Attorney's fees may be awarded under section 501.2105, Florida Statutes, even if the contingency fee agreement was signed after the trial but before the final judgment wa…

[2] The rule requiring written contingency fee agreements is intended to protect the client and does not shield a nonprevailing party from paying attorney's fees.

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Key Quotes

“While we recognize that strict compliance with the rule is always prudent, we nevertheless conclude that the rule is intended to protect the client and is not intended to shield a nonprevailing party from the payment of attorney's fees.”

Establishes that Florida's professional conduct rule regarding contingent fee agreements protects clients but does not allow nonprevailing parties to avoid paying fees where a compliant written agreement later exists.

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Facts & Procedural History

Corvette Shop & Supplies, Inc., and Daniel Morgan were defendants in a lawsuit brought by Emma Lou Coggins and Susan Coggins for deceptive and unfair …

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Opinion of the Court
WHATLEY, Judge.

WHATLEY, Judge.

Corvette Shop & Supplies, Inc., and Daniel Morgan appeal a final judgment and an award of attorney’s fees entered in favor of Emma Lou Coggins and Susan Coggins. The final judgment was entered in favor of the Cogginses as to their claims for deceptive and unfair trade practices and negligent misrepresentation. We find no error in the entry of the final judgment and affirm it without discussion. We also affirm the award of attorney’s fees; however, we reverse the application of the contingency risk multiplier to the fee award.

The trial court granted attorney’s fees pursuant to section 501.2105, Florida Statutes (1995). We first address the argument of Corvette Shop and Morgan that there was no basis for the fee award as the contingent fee contract was not reduced to writing until after the trial, and therefore, the Cogginses were not obligated to pay their attorney’s fees. We note that the oral agreement for attorney’s fees was reduced to writing before the final judgment was entered.1 Therefore, the question presented is whether attorney’s fees may be recovered by the prevailing party pursuant to section 501.2105 where the contingency fee agreement was signed after the trial but before the final judgment was entered. We conclude that attorney’s fees may be awarded under these circumstances.

Florida Rule of Professional Conduct 4-1.5(f)(2) provides the following:

Every lawyer who accepts a retainer or enters into an agreement, express or implied, for compensation for services rendered or to be rendered in any action, claim, or proceeding whereby the lawyer’s compensation is to be dependent or contingent in whole or in part upon the successful prosecution or settlement thereof shall do so only where such fee arrangement is reduced to a written contract, signed by the client, and by a lawyer for the lawyer or for the law firm representing the client. No lawyer or firm may participate in the fee without the consent of the client in writing. Each participating lawyer or law firm shall sign the contract with the client and shall agree to assume joint legal responsibility to the client for the performance of the services in question as if each were partners of the other lawyer or law firm involved. The client shall be furnished with a copy of the signed contract and any subsequent notices or consents. All provisions of this rule shall apply to such fee contract.

In support of their position, Corvette Shop and Morgan cite this rule and Chandris, S.A. v. Yanakakis, 668 So. 2d 180 (Fla.1995). In Chandris, the supreme court held that if a contingent fee contract fails to comply with the rules of professional conduct, it is against public policy and is not enforceable by the attorney who has violated the rule. See 668 So. 2d at 185-186.

While we recognize that strict compliance with the rule is always prudent, we nevertheless conclude that the rule is intended to protect the client and is not intended to shield a nonprevailing party from the payment of attorney’s fees. Compare Chandris, 668 So. 2d 180 (client failed to honor a contingent fee contract that did not comply with the rule). Therefore, the award of attorney’s fees in the present case was correct.

We next address the argument of Corvette Shop and Morgan that the trial court improperly applied a multiplier to the fee amount. We agree with this argument and reverse the multiplier amount. Stewart Select Cars, Inc. v. Moore, 619 So. 2d 1037 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), is directly on point. In StewaH, the Fourth District held that the application of the contingency risk multiplier is inappropriate where “the primary statute relied upon ... for recovery of attorney’s fees is section 501.2105, Florida Statutes (1989) which provides a reasonable attorney fee for the prevailing party ‘for the hours actually spent on the case.’ ” 619 So. 2d at 1038. We agree with Steivart and hold that the contingency risk multiplier should not have been applied in this case where the award of attorney’s fees was based on section 501.2105.

Accordingly, we affirm the final judgment and the award of attorney’s fees; however we reverse the application of a contingency risk multiplier to the fee award.

ALTENBERND, A.C.J., and DAVIS, J., Concur. . There has been no allegation suggesting unethical conduct. The failure to reduce the fee agreement to writing appears to have been an oversight.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Roberta Santini, M.D. v. Cleveland Clinic Fla., 65 So. 3d 22 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
    …which does not comply with the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar is void, the Florida Supreme Court denied review of this decision. Lackey v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 870 So. 2d 822 (Fla.2004); see also Corvette Shop & Supplies, Inc. v. Coggins, 779 So. 2d 529, 531 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (“While we recognize that strict compliance with the rule is always prudent, we nevertheless conclude that the rule is intended to protect the client ....”) (emphasis added). . Even if we were to find that a forfeiture of fe…
  • …plied. The only claim in this litigation alleges a violation of FDUTPA. As such, the appellants claim that the inclusion of the 1.77 multiplier was error as multipliers are prohibited in FDUTPA claims. See Corvette Shop & Supplies, Inc. v. Coggins, 779 So. 2d 529, 531 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)(holding that a contingency risk multiplier should not have been applied where the award of attorney’s fees was based on the FDUT-PA); Stewart Select Cars, Inc. v. Moore, 619 So. 2d 1037, 1038 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)(contingency r…
  • Sanchez v. AN Luxury Imports OF Pembroke Pines, Inc., 216 So. 3d 723 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
    …hat a contingency risk multiplier is unavailable under section 501.2105 because the statute “provides a reasonable attorney fee for the prevailing party ‘for the hours actually spent on the case’ ”); accord Corvette Shop & Supplies, Inc. v. Coggins, 779 So. 2d 529, 531 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (same). The trial court was therefore correct to not consider a multiplier for the fee award entered against either Safeco or ANL -under section 501.2105. [*731] On the issue of fee multipliers under section 627.428, the Fift…

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