Common Sense Prevails, Nit-Picking Fails!     

Fourth District Court of Appeal finds that attached release does not make proposal for settlement unenforceable.

We are proud to announce that Caryn L. Bellus and Bretton C. Albrecht obtained a reversal of a denial of attorneys fees pursuant to a PFS in American Integrity Ins. Co. of Florida v. Branford, 4D19-3950 (Fla. 4th DCA February 24, 2021). The Fourth District Court of Appeal held that “the word ‘assigns’ in the line of the standard release defining the plaintiff or ‘releasor’ as including ‘assigns’ and the like, does not create an ambiguity due to plaintiff’s preexisting assignment of benefits to the third party. The only reasonable interpretation of the proposal and release – read together as a whole – is expressly limited to resolving the claims which the plaintiff asserted or could have asserted in the underlying lawsuit.” This continues the latest trend by the appellate courts that have not tolerated “nit-picking” of a PFS.