Can It Be Done? Evaluating Judicial Authority to Expand the PFS Acceptance Period

When negotiating a settlement in a case, timing is really important. If one party makes a settlement offer and the other party doesn’t accept it within 30 days, they might have to pay the other party’s legal fees if the court case ends with a judgment that’s a lot worse than the original offer. There’s been some disagreement in the courts about whether the 30-day acceptance period can be made longer if one party asks for more time. It might come down to whether the 30-day period is seen as a procedural rule or a substantive rule, which could affect whether a court can change it. The court can extend the time for a party to accept a legal offer, but the law says parties have 30 days to decide. There’s a debate about whether the 30-day period can be extended. In a recent case, a party asked for more time to decide, and later accepted the offer. The court had to decide if the extra time automatically stopped the 30-day clock. The court reviewed rules about time limits for accepting settlement offers in a personal injury case. They said that one of the rules doesn’t allow for extra time to be given while a request for more time is pending. They weren’t sure if another rule could give a judge power to extend the time limit set by law. They asked another court to decide the issue, because that court had made a decision about it before. In the case Goldy, the plaintiff tried to enforce a settlement offer that the defendant didn’t accept within 30 days. The defendant asked for more time to accept, but before the court could decide, the plaintiff took back the offer. After the trial, the plaintiff wanted the defendant to pay their legal fees, but the court said no. The court ruled that the defendant’s request for more time to accept the offer stopped the 30-day deadline. This means the plaintiff took back the offer too soon and couldn’t make the defendant pay their fees.

In another case, State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co. v. South Florida Med. Health Center, the court said that the 30-day deadline for accepting an offer is strict. They didn’t think the court could make the deadline longer, even if someone asked.

The big question is whether the 30-day deadline for accepting an offer is a strict rule or if the court can make it longer. It’s not clear yet, so different courts are making different decisions. The time limits for accepting settlement offers in Florida law can be complicated and may need clarification. It’s unclear whether a court can extend the time to accept a settlement offer over the objection of the person making the offer. Until this is resolved, lawyers should be aware of the possibilities and advise their clients accordingly. Rule 1.090(b) does not give more time to file certain motions, but it might give more time for a proposal for settlement. If a specific law doesn’t have its own rules, then the general rules apply. Both Rule 1.442 and §768.79 must be strictly followed. A proposal for settlement can be enforced if the offer is not extended and no hearing is held before the time runs out. It’s important to understand the balance of power between the courts and the legislature in creating and enforcing rules. The Florida Supreme Court is reviewing a case about whether the acceptance period for a legal offer can be extended. This is because there is a disagreement about whether the law allows for this. Another court previously said that the time to accept an offer can be extended, but this is not a final decision. Another court said that the time cannot be extended. This means that the issue is still up in the air and needs to be settled. The Florida Supreme Court has discussed the issue of whether the time period for accepting a proposal for settlement (PFS) in a lawsuit can be extended. Some courts have disagreed on this issue, and the Supreme Court has looked at cases from other states as well. The Supreme Court has said that the PFS acceptance period is procedural, but only in a certain context. This article is written by an attorney from Kubicki Draper’s appellate division. It discusses the distinction between substantive and procedural law in Florida courts, using case law examples to explain the difference. The article is submitted on behalf of the Appellate Practice Section. The Florida Bar aims to instill principles of duty and service to the public, improve justice administration, and advance the study of law.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/can-it-be-done-evaluating-judicial-authority-to-expand-the-pfs-acceptance-period/