Jacksonville Golfair, Inc. v. Grover
988 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
A corporation filed a motion for attorneys' fees based on the opposing party’s denial of a pretrial settlement proposal. The trial court found that the settlement proposal was ambiguous about which claims would be settled upon acceptance and denied the motion. The appellate court ruled that the trial court's finding was erroneous. Even though the corporation's proposal did not address the claims or interests of other parties to the action, this did not create ambiguity, and was irrelevant. The offer proposed to resolve all counterclaims against one party and also all claims that the party might have had against the corporation. The settlement proposal did not require speculation on how the settlement would be procedurally consummated. The offer proposed to settle all claims identified in the offer and provided the husband with an option of how the settlement would have been resolved – either the corporation would accept a specific monetary amount from the party as payment for the corporations claims against the party or, in the alternative, the party could consent to judgment against himself and in favor of the corporation for the specified amount. The court held that the offer was free of ambiguity and the corporation was entitled to an award of attorneys' fees under § 768.79, Fla. Stat.