BRIAN ZALIS, APPELLANT,
v.
M.E.J. RICH CORP., A NEW JERSEY CORPORATION, SLARK CORP., A DELAWARE CORPORATION, AND EDWARD PRIORE, APPELLEES
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The defendant made a settlement offer conditional on the plaintiff waiving all future rights to sue the defendant and affiliated parties. The trial court invalidated this condition and denied the defendant's motion for attorneys' fees after the plaintiff rejected the offer and obtained a jury verdict. The appellate court affirmed, holding that such an unlimited waiver cannot satisfy statutory requirements for settlement offers.
The settlement offer was invalid because the condition requiring the plaintiff to relinquish all future rights to sue is incapable of being stated with the particularity required by statute and rules. No reasonable estimate can be assigned to such an unlimited waiver, and therefore the offer did not give the plaintiff a determinable value to weigh against trial prospects. The trial court properly denied the motion for attorneys' fees.
[1] A condition in a settlement offer requiring a plaintiff to relinquish all rights to sue about anything at any point in the future is incapable of being stated with the pa…
[2] A settlement offer's condition that the plaintiff release all future claims is an invalid condition that renders the entire offer invalid.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“The condition that a plaintiff relinquish all rights to sue about anything at any point in the future is intrinsically a condition incapable of being stated with the particularity required under section 768.79 of the Florida Statutes.”
Establishes the core holding that unlimited waiver conditions cannot satisfy statutory particularity requirements.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe plaintiff sued the defendant for filing false allegations of domestic violence. Before trial, the defendant offered to settle for $20,000 conditio…
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PER CURIAM.
The plaintiffs sued the defendant for, inter alia, filing false allegations of domestic violence. The defendant counterclaimed for malicious prosecution. Before trial, the defendant offered to settle the lawsuit for $20,000 under the condition that the parties exchange mutual releases that neither the plaintiff nor any firm associated with him would bring any future action against the defendant or anyone associated with him. The plaintiff refused. Zalis subsequently won a $105,000 jury verdict and made a motion for attorneys’ fees pursuant to section 768.79 of the Florida Statutes.
The trial court found the condition in the settlement offer to be invalid and denied the motion for attorneys’ fees. The defendant appeals.
Section 768.79 of the Florida Statutes requires that offers of judgment state with particularity the amount offered to settle a claim for punitive damages. The section creates “penalties” for the declining party’s failure to accept the offer and end the litigation. Abbott & Purdy Group Inc. v. Bell, Jr., 738 So. 2d 1024, 1026 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).
Under Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.442(c), proposals for settlement must state with particularity any relevant conditions, state the total amount of the proposal and state with particularity all nonmone-tary terms of the proposal.
The condition that a plaintiff relinquish all rights to sue about anything at any point in the future is intrinsically a condition incapable of being stated with the particularity required under section 768.79 of the Florida Statutes. No reasonable estimate can be assigned to such a waiver. The defendant’s offer simply did not give the plaintiff a determinable value with which to weigh his chances at trial. Though the defendant seems to fear future actions, there are other mechanisms to counteract such problems, such as the defendant’s jury verdict of $105,000 for malicious prosecution.
If the condition is invalid, it follows that the whole offer is invalid as well. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s motion for attorneys’ fees.
AFFIRMED.
GUNTHER, WARNER and GROSS, JJ. concur.
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Cited By (13 total)
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The Bd. OF Trs. OF Fla. Atl. Univ. v. Bowman, 853 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…s to the action. The trial court found that those conditions contained in the General Release did not give Plaintiffs a determinable value with which to weigh their chances at trial as required by this court’s decision in Zalis v. M.E.J. Rich Corp., 797 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Defendant argues that the language in the Proposal for Settlement and General Release was consistent with the nature of a general release and sufficiently clear and unambiguous; therefore, the trial court should have enforced i…
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Swartsel v. Publix Super Mkts., Inc., 882 So. 2d 449 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…, of Alamo Rent-A-Car. We thus turn to the argument under the offer of judgment. Rule 1.442(c)(2)(C)-(D) requires that proposals for settlement state with particularity any relevant conditions and all nonmonetary terms.2 Zalis v. M.E.J. Rich Corp., 797 So. 2d 1289, 1290 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). As one court has explained: “The rule intends for a proposal for judgment to be as specific as possible, leaving no ambiguities so that the recipient can fully evaluate its terms and conditions.” Lucas v. Calhoun, 813 So…
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Palm Beach Polo Holdings, Inc. v. The Vill. OF Wellington, 904 So. 2d 652 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…ities, so that the recipient.can fully evaluate its terms and conditions.” 882 So. 2d at 452 (quoting Lucas v. Calhoun, 813 So. 2d 971, 973 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)). The terms of any proposed release are subject to this rule. Zalis v. M.E.J. Rich Corp., 797 So. 2d 1289, 1290 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). The language of the proposed release, or a summary of the substance of the release, must be included with the offer to comply with the requirement that it be particular. Nichols, 851 So. 2d at 746. Nichols held a release…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Weisbard v. Ward & Caggiano, P.A., 738 So. 2d 1024 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)