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    ahopefloats's Avatar
    ahopefloats Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Nov 10, 2010, 07:45 AM
    Default Judgement Lawyer fees
    A default judgement was entered against me in 02/09 a lien was placed against my home. My home was foreclosed on and now the lawyer is coming after me for his fees some months later. I found a statue in Fl Law but I am not sure if it applies for a dismissal of his fees claim. The statue is 768.79 Known as "Offer of judgement statute. One of the items states that the plantiffs lawyer has 30 days to submit a recovery motion. What I want to know is... if this applies to my case if I did not make an offer
    (of which I did not to the plantiff), as this statue seems to be if you made an offer. I was not sure if it would be seen in a broader way or exactly what it is. You must have made an offer for this statute to apply. *** advise. I am located in the state of Florida
    twinkiedooter's Avatar
    twinkiedooter Posts: 12,172, Reputation: 1054
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    #2

    Nov 11, 2010, 11:08 AM

    Just how is this lawyer coming after you for his fees?
    AK lawyer's Avatar
    AK lawyer Posts: 12,592, Reputation: 977
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    #3

    Nov 11, 2010, 01:18 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by ahopefloats View Post
    ... now the lawyer is coming after me for his fees some months later.. . What I want to know is... if this applies to my case if I did not make an offer...
    No. It doesn't apply to your case. The statute to which you refer, in pertinent part, is this:

    768.79 Offer of judgment and demand for judgment.
    … (6)
    Upon motion made by the offeror within 30 days after the entry of judgment or after voluntary or involuntary dismissal, the court shall determine the following:

    (b)
    If a plaintiff serves an offer which is not accepted by the defendant, and if the judgment obtained by the plaintiff is at least 25 percent more than the amount of the offer, the plaintiff shall be awarded reasonable costs, including investigative expenses, and attorney's fees, calculated in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Supreme Court, incurred from the date the offer was served.
    There is no offer of judgment involved and so the 30-day provision doesn't apply.

    If the plaintiff obtained an award of costs and attorney's fees somehow when the judgment was entered, you should have objected at that time if there was a basis for objection (such as attorney's fees not being authorized by the contract).

    On the other hand, if attorney fees were not awarded in the judgment, it is now too late for the plaintiff to seek attorney fees.

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