Florida Senate - 2021                              CS for SB 686
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       590-02141-21                                           2021686c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to offers of judgment; amending s.
    3         768.79, F.S.; authorizing parties to serve offers of
    4         judgment that make certain stipulations relating to
    5         attorney fees and costs; authorizing certain offerings
    6         of judgment relating to jointly owned property to
    7         require both individuals to either accept or reject
    8         the offer; providing requirements relating to grounds
    9         for challenging the validity of offers; defining the
   10         term “judgment obtained” as it relates to certain
   11         offers of judgment; providing applicability; providing
   12         an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Present subsections (3) through (8) of section
   17  768.79, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
   18  through (10), respectively, new subsections (3) and (4) are
   19  added to that section, and subsection (2) and present
   20  subsections (3), (4), and (6) of that section are amended, to
   21  read:
   22         768.79 Offer of judgment and demand for judgment.—
   23         (2) The making of an offer of settlement which is not
   24  accepted does not preclude the making of a subsequent offer.
   25         (3) A party may make an offer of judgment that identifies
   26  only the total amount of indemnity or damages and stipulates
   27  that entitlement to attorney fees and costs will be established
   28  at a later time by the parties or the court. An offer of
   29  judgment is not required to specify an amount for attorney fees
   30  and costs.
   31         (4) An offer must:
   32         (a) Be in writing and state that it is being made pursuant
   33  to this section.
   34         (b) Name the party making it and the party to whom it is
   35  being made.
   36         (c) State with particularity the amount offered to settle a
   37  claim for punitive damages, if any.
   38         (d) State its total amount.
   39  
   40  The offer shall be construed as including all damages which may
   41  be awarded in a final judgment unless it is an offer of judgment
   42  that stipulates that entitlement to attorney fees and costs will
   43  be established at a later time by the parties or the court.
   44         (5)(3)An The offer shall be served upon the party to whom
   45  it is made, but it may shall not be filed unless it is accepted
   46  or unless filing is necessary to enforce the provisions of this
   47  section. In an action relating to damages to real property that
   48  is jointly owned by two individuals who are insureds, an offer
   49  of judgment which is served on both insureds may require that
   50  both insureds either accept or reject the offer.
   51         (6)(4) An offer shall be accepted by filing a written
   52  acceptance with the court within 30 days after service. Upon
   53  filing of both the offer and acceptance, the court has full
   54  jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement. Within 30 days
   55  after an offer is served, the offeree must notify the offeror of
   56  any grounds for challenging the validity of the offer. The
   57  grounds for challenging the validity of the offer must be in
   58  writing and stated with specificity to enable the offeror to
   59  reevaluate the offer and make corrections, if warranted. If the
   60  offeree fails to timely notify the offeror in writing of the
   61  grounds for challenging the validity of the offer, the offeree
   62  waives the right to object to the validity of the offer.
   63         (8)(6) Upon motion made by the offeror within 30 days after
   64  the entry of judgment or after voluntary or involuntary
   65  dismissal, the court shall determine the following:
   66         (a) If a defendant serves an offer which is not accepted by
   67  the plaintiff, and if the judgment obtained by the plaintiff is
   68  at least 25 percent less than the amount of the offer, the
   69  defendant shall be awarded reasonable costs, including
   70  investigative expenses, and attorney attorney’s fees, calculated
   71  in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Supreme
   72  Court, incurred from the date the offer was served, and the
   73  court shall set off such costs in attorney attorney’s fees
   74  against the award. When such costs and attorney attorney’s fees
   75  total more than the amount of the judgment, the court shall
   76  enter judgment for the defendant against the plaintiff for the
   77  amount of the costs and fees, less the amount of the award to
   78  the plaintiff.
   79         (b) If a plaintiff serves an offer which is not accepted by
   80  the defendant, and if the judgment obtained by the plaintiff is
   81  at least 25 percent more than the amount of the offer, the
   82  plaintiff shall be awarded reasonable costs, including
   83  investigative expenses, and attorney attorney’s fees, calculated
   84  in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Supreme
   85  Court, incurred from the date the offer was served.
   86  
   87  For purposes of the determination required by paragraph (a), the
   88  term “judgment obtained” means the amount of the net judgment
   89  entered, plus any postoffer collateral source payments received
   90  or due as of the date of the judgment, plus any postoffer
   91  settlement amounts by which the verdict was reduced. For
   92  purposes of the determination required by paragraph (b), the
   93  term “judgment obtained” means the amount of the net judgment
   94  entered, plus any postoffer settlement amounts by which the
   95  verdict was reduced. For purposes of the determination required
   96  by paragraph (a) for an offer of judgment that stipulates that
   97  entitlement to attorney fees and costs will be established at a
   98  later time by the parties or the court, the term “judgment
   99  obtained” means the total amount of damages, if any, but does
  100  not include any amount awarded for attorney fees and costs.
  101         Section 2. This act applies to all offers of judgment
  102  served on or after July 1, 2021.
  103         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.