ARCHITECTURAL NETWORK, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND DAVID MARSHALL CORBAN, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLANTS,
v.
GULF BAY LAND HOLDINGS II, LTD., A FLORIDA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, D/B/A PARCEL C JOINT VENTURE, BY ITS GENERAL PARTNER, GULF BAY LAND HOLDINGS II, INC., AND FRANK WILLIAMS ARCHITECT, P.C., AND FRANK WILLIAMS, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 2008-07-18
Nos. 2D07-2137, 2D07-2224
WHATLEY and WALLACE, JJ„ Concur.
989 So. 2d 662 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Synopsis

Architectural Network, Inc. and David Marshall Corban appealed from a trial court's enforcement of a settlement agreement with Gulf Bay Land Holdings II, Ltd. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that Gulf Bay failed to meet its burden of proving that its attorney had clear and unequivocal authority to settle the case on the client's behalf.


Holding

No. The court reversed the order enforcing the settlement agreement because Gulf Bay failed to establish that attorney Corso had clear and unequivocal authority to settle. The evidence relied upon—opposing counsel's testimony about what Corso represented—was insufficient because opposing counsel lacked personal knowledge of what Corso's clients instructed him to do, and Corso himself did not testify.


Headnotes

[1] A party seeking to enforce a settlement agreement bears the burden of showing that an attorney for the opposing party had the clear and unequivocal authority to settle on…

[2] Evidence of an attorney's authority to settle must be clear and unequivocal.

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Key Quotes

“A party seeking to enforce a settlement agreement bears the burden of showing that an attorney for the opposing party had the clear and unequivocal authority to settle on the client's behalf.”

Establishes the legal standard Gulf Bay must meet to enforce the settlement agreement.

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Facts & Procedural History

ANI and Corban were parties to litigation with Gulf Bay. Gulf Bay's attorney, Michael Corso, communicated to opposing counsel that he had authority to…

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Opinion of the Court
KELLY, Judge.

KELLY, Judge.

In these consolidated cases, Architectural Network, Inc. (ANI) and David Marshall Corban appeal from trial court orders enforcing a settlement agreement, entering a final judgment in favor of Gulf Bay Land Holdings II, Ltd., (Gulf Bay) and dismissing the action with prejudice.1 ANI and Corban argue that the trial court erred in enforcing the agreement because Gulf Bay failed to establish that its attor ney, Michael Corso, had the authority to settle the case on its behalf. We reverse.

A party seeking to enforce a settlement agreement bears the burden of showing that an attorney for the opposing party had the clear and unequivocal authority to settle on the client’s behalf. Architectural Network, Inc. v. Gulf Bay Land Holdings II, Ltd., 933 So. 2d 732, 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006). As noted in Weitzman v. Bergman, 555 So. 2d 448, 449 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), courts have been very stringent in what they find to be a “clear and unequivocal” grant of authority.

The record in this case is not sufficient to permit a conclusion that attorney Corso had “clear and unequivocal” authority to settle.

At the evidentiary hearing, the only evidence Gulf Bay presented concerning attorney Corso’s authority to settle the case was through opposing counsel. They testified to having received communications from Corso and his office indicating that Corso had the necessary authority to settle the case.

However, opposing counsel had no personal knowledge regarding what Corso’s clients had instructed him to do — they only knew what Corso had represented to them. On the other hand, Cor-so’s clients, ANI’s president, Rey Pezesh-kan, and David Corban, both testified that attorney Corso was authorized only to communicate to opposing counsel that his clients were proceeding in good faith toward settlement, not that they had entered into a binding settlement agreement. Mr. Corso’s testimony would likely have been critical to resolving the issue of his authority to settle the case, but he did not testify at the hearing. Under these circumstances, we cannot conclude that Gulf Bay met its burden to prove that attorney Cor-so had clear and unequivocal authority from his clients to settle the case. We therefore reverse the order enforcing the settlement agreement and remand for further proceedings.

Reversed and remanded.

WHATLEY and WALLACE, JJ„ Concur. . The appealed orders were entered following an evidentiary hearing held pursuant to this court's mandate in an earlier appeal. See Architectural Network, Inc. v. Gulf Bay Land Holdings II, Ltd., 933 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006).


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Citator

Cited By

  • …ad the clear and unequivocal authority to settle on the client’s behalf’; Florida courts “have been very stringent in what they find to be a ‘clear and unequivocal’ grant of authority.” Architectural Network, Inc. v. Gulf Bay Land Holdings II, Ltd., 989 So. 2d 662, 663 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008) (citing Architectural Network, Inc. v. Gulf Bay Land Holdings II, Ltd., 933 So. 2d 732, 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006), and Weitzman v. Bergman, 555 So. 2d 448, 449 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)). Here, Mr. Sanoba testified to his understandi…
  • ST. Mary's Sch. of Med. v. Zabaleta, 252 So. 3d 371 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)

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