AMBLER, D/B/A AMBLER LAW GROUP
v.
BAYFRONT SAME DAY SURGERY CENTER, LLC, BAYFRONT ANESTHESIA SERVICES, P. A., ET AL
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Summary judgment on the charging lien claim was properly entered, but the trial court's order directing immediate disbursement of trust funds must be struck pending resolution of the attorney's quantum meruit claim for fees.
[1] An attorney whose fee agreement with a client is unenforceable may recover compensation on the basis of quantum meruit for services rendered.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“when a fee agreement between an attorney and client is unenforceable, 'the attorney is entitled to recover on the basis of quantum meruit'”
Court cited King v. Young, Berkman, Berman & Karpf, P.A., 709 So. 2d 572, 574 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) to support the principle that quantum meruit recovery is available when a fee agreement fails.
Ambler Law Group represented Ernest Dwayne Davis and Nicole A. Davis in a matter. The firm sought a charging lien based on a written fee agreement and…
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DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
THE LAW OFFICES OF KEVIN C.
AMBLER, P.A., d/b/a AMBLER LAW GROUP,
Appellant,
v.
BAYFRONT SAME DAY SURGERY CENTER, LLC; BAYFRONT ANESTHESIA SERVICES, P.A.; BAYFRONT MEDICAL CENTER, INC.; MICHAEL J. ANTONELLI, D.O.; JEFFREY I. MARDER, M.D.; ROBERT LYNN SWYMER, CRNA; TRINA LEANNE ANTONELLI, CRNA; SANG HEE LEE, CRNA; MARIA S. PRUSHINSKI, R.N.; RACHAEL TEJEDOR, R.N.; LINNEA N. STEWART, R.N.; MICHAEL J. SOLTIS, R.N.; DONALD BLACK, R.N.; ERNEST DWAYNE DAVIS, by and through NICOLE A. DAVIS, as plenary guardian of ERNEST DWAYNE DAVIS, a judicially adjudicated mentally incapacitated adult; and NICOLE A. DAVIS, individually, as the spouse of ERNEST DWAYNE DAVIS,
Appellees.
No. 2D2024-1634
April 2, 2025
Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130 from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Thomas M. Ramsberger, Judge.
Samuel J. Salario, Jr., and Caroline May Poor of Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC, Tampa, for Appellant.
2
Isaac R. Ruiz-Carus, Mac A. Greco, Jr., and Andrew J. Wozniak of Greco, Wozniak, & Ruiz-Carus, P.A., Tampa, for Appellees Ernest Dwayne Davis, by and through Nicole A. Davis, as plenary guardian of Ernest Dwayne Davis, a judicially adjudicated mentally incapacitated adult, and Nicole A. Davis, individually, as the spouse of Ernest Dwayne Davis.
No appearance for remaining Appellees.
MORRIS, Judge.
We affirm the order entering final summary judgment on Ambler Law Group's claim for a charging lien based on the written contract with appellees Ernest Dwayne Davis and Nicole A. Davis. However, the Davises conceded at oral argument that the summary judgment does not address Ambler Law Group's claim for fees based on the theory of quantum meruit, that Ambler Law Group has a pending claim against the Davises for quantum meruit, and that the funds held in trust should not be released until that claim for quantum meruit is resolved. See, e.g., King v. Young, Berkman, Berman & Karpf, P.A., 709 So. 2d 572, 574 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (holding that when a fee agreement between an attorney and client is unenforceable, "the attorney is entitled to recover on the basis of quantum meruit"). Accordingly, we remand with instructions for the trial court to strike the portion of the order that directs the immediate disbursement of the funds being held in trust.
Affirmed; remanded with instructions.
NORTHCUTT and VILLANTI, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.