Sharon Degnan, of the Orlando office, won an appeal in the Fifth District Court of Appeal wherein she obtained a reversal of an attorney’s fee award against her client and the client’s insurance carrier in Sentz v. Tracy, 266 So. 3d 1279 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019). The attorney’s fee award was originally entered as a sanction for the defendant’s failure to admit certain requests for admission. The appellate court held that an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.380(c), which authorizes such an award against a party who fails to admit a request for admission, was inapplicable to the defendant’s denial of requests to admit that she was negligent and the legal cause of damage to the plaintiff, which issues were hotly disputed at trial. The appellate court agreed with Sharon’s argument that to allow a fee award in such a circumstance would improperly turn Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.380(c) into a prevailing party fee provision, which it is not intended to be.
Locations
9100 South Dadeland Blvd.
Suite 1800
Miami, FL. 33156 305.374.1212
125 West Romana St.
Suite 550
Pensacola, FL 32502 850.434.0003
1705 Metropolitan Blvd.
Suite 202
Tallahassee, FL 32308 850.222.5188
201 South Orange Ave.
Suite 475
Orlando, FL 32801 407.245.3630
13350 Metro Parkway
Suite 401
Fort Myers, FL 33966 239.334.8403
402 Applerouth Lane
Suite 2C
Key West, FL 33040 305.509.7300
1 Independent Drive
Suite 1601
Jacksonville, FL 32202 904.396.0062
1396 NE 20th Ave.
Suite 500
Ocala, FL 34470 352.622.4222
400 North Ashley Drive
Suite 1200
Tampa, FL 33602 813.204.9776
110 East Broward Blvd.
Suite 1400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.768.0011
1700 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
Suite 800
West Palm Beach, FL 33401 561.640.0303
11 North Water St.
Suite 10290
Mobile, AL 36602 251.308.3351