Burlington & Rockenback, P.A. v Law Offices of E. Clay Parker, ___ So. 3d ___, 40 Fla. L.Weekly D915 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)

A  fee  agreement  between  co-counsel  stated  that  the  appellate  lawyers  counseling  at  the trial court level would earn a stated hourly fee plus 1-1/2% of gross recovery were settled prior  to  filing  post-trial  motions  OR  2-1/2%  of  gross  recovery  if  case  settled  after appellate counsel were required to prepare post-trial motions.  After jury verdict of $13M for  plaintiff,  defendant  filed  post-trial  motions  and  one  defendant  settled  with  plaintiff.  The other defendants proceeded on appeal which served to affirm the jury verdict.

The trial attorney's interpreted the agreement to require that they pay only the hourly fee plus  1-1/2%  but  the  appellate  counsel  demanded  their  hourly  fee  plus  2-1/2%  of  the recovery.    Once  the  underlying  medical  malpractice  suit  was  resolved,  the  trial  court found for the trial attorneys allowing the hourly fee plus 1-1/2%.  The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that the trial court had reached an absurd interpretation of the contract and had  erroneously  reasoned  that  the  appellate  counsel  had  breached  the  fee  agreement  by disagreeing with the trial attorneys.  The appellate court cited to Black's Law Dictionary as  well  as  the  American  Heritage  Dictionary  for  clarity  as  to  the  meaning  of  "settled."  The  court  noted  also  that  principles  of  contract  interpretation  govern,    requiring  (1)  the parties'  intentions  to  be  determined  from  the  plain  meaning  of  the  words,  (2)  that dictionaries  are  commonly  consulted  for  such  plain  meaning,  (3)  the  entire  contract should  be  read  as  a  whole  and  provision  should  not  be  considered  in  isolation,  and  (4) that the contract should be not interpreted to achieve an absurd result.  In other words, the court  should  reach  a  contract  interpretation  consistent  with  reason,  probability,  and  the practical aspect of the transaction between the parties.  

From the Construction Transactions Subcommittee Report

Trenton H. Cotney

Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer

Trent Cotney, P.A.

407 N. Howard Avenue

Suite 100

Tampa, FL 33606

www.trentcotney.com