THESE ARE NOT ALL OF THE CASES RELEASED BY THE COURTS FOR THE WEEK.
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Contracts -- Attorney's fees -- Proposal for settlement -- Validity -- Choice of law -- Proposal for settlement was ineffective to create a right to fees under section 768.79 where, although offeree was found to have waived application of New York law to merits of case, offeree had not yet waived application of out-of-state-law when proposal for settlement was received
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Contracts -- Construction -- Attorney's fees -- Prevailing party -- Mutuality of obligation -- Breach of contract action alleging that defendant contractor failed to complete work by agreed upon date -- No error in awarding attorney's fees to prevailing defendant for legal work related to plaintiff's prejudgment writ of garnishment -- Discussion of supreme court's decision in Ham v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC -- Unilateral fee provision of parties' contract was made reciprocal under section 57.105(7) and entitled prevailing defendant to attorney's fees where garnishment proceedings were “with respect” to parties' underlying agreement -- Contingency risk multiplier -- Trial court erred by applying a 1.5 contingency risk multiplier to fee award -- Multiplier was not supported by competent substantial evidence where there was no direct evidence that defendant's counsel was the only competent counsel in the relevant market, or in the alternative, that no competent counsel would have taken the case if the multiplier was unavailable
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Dissolution of marriage -- Attorneys -- Disqualification -- Former judge -- Predecessor judge made partner at law firm representing husband -- Trial court abused its discretion by denying wife's motion to disqualify law firm representing husband -- Because predecessor judge presided “personally and substantially,” he is precluded from representing husband -- Predecessor judge's disqualification is imputed to all of the firm's lawyers because firm failed to comply with Bar Rule 4 -- 1.12(c) -- Successor judge could not rely on testimony of firm's founding partner to determine that predecessor judge was adequately screened from case and would not be apportioned any fee where partner's testimony was unsworn -- Partner's unsworn statements were not testimonial evidence and failed to establish admissible facts -- Additionally, it is undisputed that law firm failed to give written notice to wife about predecessor judge joining the firm as required by Rule 4 -- 1.12(c) and there was no evidence of notice to the court about predecessor judge's new affiliation
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Employer-employee relations -- Whistle blowers -- Retaliation -- To prevail in a retaliation claim under section 448.103 alleging a violation of section 448.102(3), a private-sector employee must establish that the employer's activity, policy, or practice to which the employee objected is, by definition, in violation of law -- An employee is not required to establish that the employer has already in fact violated the law -- A “good faith, objectively reasonable belief” that the actions to which employee objected were illegal is insufficient
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Estates -- Real property -- Homestead -- Probate court did not err in determining that decedent's residence was part of a revocable trust, not the estate, and that it was the protected homestead of decedent -- Property was the protected homestead of decedent even though it was titled in the name of the trust because decedent retained the right to revoke the trust -- Property's homestead status passed to decedent's adult children -- Homestead protection is not limited to a surviving spouse or minor children -- Court rejects argument that language of decedent's will required property be sold to pay estate's debts -- Because property is in name of trust, property is protected from the claims of all creditors unless the trust specifically directs that the freely devisable homestead be sold
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Guardianships -- Attorney's fees -- Petition for attorney's fees under section 744.108(1) filed by attorney who filed petition for appointment of emergency temporary guardian on behalf of ward's child -- Trial court erred by denying petition based on determination that statute only applied to attorneys who represent the ward -- Under statute, a petitioner's counsel might be entitled to fees to the extent that the petitioner's request for the determination of incapacity and the appointment of the guardian redounds to the benefit of the ward -- Remand for trial court to determine whether appointment of the ETG redounded to the benefit of the ward
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Landlord-tenant -- Eviction -- Default -- Failure to pay rent into court registry -- Trial court erred by entering default judgment in favor of landlord without conducting an evidentiary hearing on tenants' motion to determine rent -- Trial court further erred by weighing the sufficiency of tenants' supporting documentation in determining that no evidentiary hearing was necessary -- Section 83.60(2) imposes no requirement on trial court to first weigh the merits of the documentation in order to determine whether an evidentiary hearing is justified -- Appeals -- Mootness -- Although tenants have already been evicted and moved, appeal is not moot because eviction can have collateral consequences for tenants when they seek to obtain housing or credit
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Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration -- Amendment -- Representation by signer -- Requirement that signer of filing represent that legal authorities identified in filing “exist and are accurately cited” -- Authority of court to impose sanctions for filings inconsistent with representation
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Torts -- Medical malpractice -- Action based on misdiagnosis that allegedly stemmed from defendant's supposed continued practice of medicine while showing signs of dementia -- Discovery -- Compulsory medical examination -- Good cause -- Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of law by ordering compulsory examination of defendant's present cognitive abilities where neurologist set to examine defendant attested that the compulsory medical examination sought would help neurologist form an opinion on defendant's cognitive abilities as they existed at time of incident giving rise to malpractice claim against defendant -- Operative order sufficiently defined scope of examination
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Criminal Law Headnotes (Jump to Civil Law Headnotes)

THESE ARE NOT ALL OF THE CASES RELEASED BY THE COURTS FOR THE WEEK.
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Criminal law -- Resisting officer without violence -- Jurors -- Challenges -- Peremptory -- Racial discrimination -- Race-neutral explanation -- Genuineness -- Trial court did not abuse its discretion by permitting state to strike African American female juror -- Trial court did not clearly err in accepting as genuine state's second race-neutral explanation, that juror had previously served on criminal jury that reached a decision, notwithstanding defendant's objection that a similarly situated white male juror was not challenged -- Considering all relevant circumstances and record on appeal, prosecutor's initial reason for striking juror, that she demonstrated bias against police officers, was accurate and supports presumption that challenge to juror was exercised in nondiscriminatory manner -- Sufficiency of evidence -- State presented sufficient evidence to prove that defendant resisted the specific officers named in information -- Six-member jury -- No merit to claim that conviction by six-person jury violated constitutional right to 12-person jury -- Conviction and sentence affirmed
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