Case Law Update – Proposals for Settlement: In Mootry v. Bethune Cookman, the Fifth DCA affirmed a denial of a Defendant’s motion for fees pursuant to $100 PFSs. The trial court’s decision, which the Fifth DCA upheld, found the following:

“In July 2012 [when the PFSs was filed], the outcome of the various claims was far from certain. The issues in this case had far-reaching significance to both parties and to many others not parties to the case…. Discovery would prove to be extensive and far-reaching, yet only preliminary discovery was completed. In short, the nominal proposals filed by both defendants bore no relationship to the apparent importance of the case to both sides, as evidenced from the scope and extent of their actions.”

This new opinion does not address Weesner v. United Services Auto. Ass’n, 711 So. 2d 1192, (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), which reversed a trial court’s denial of fees based on a $100 PFS or Sharaby v. KLV Gems Co., Inc., 45 So.3d 560 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2010), which reversed a trial court’s denial of fees based on a PFS of $500.