Arbitration & Mediation

Fourth DCA Clarifies Prior Ruling on Taxing Costs and Fees After Non-Binding Arbitration

By Christopher B. Hopkins, Esq.

We previously reported on the case of Jeremias Atunez v. Deborah Whitfield inwhich the Fourth DCA ruled that the "old" version of Florida Stattue 44.103(6) applied and that taxable costs should be considered part of the judgment when determining whether a party who was sent to non-binding arbitration and then trial is entitled to attorney's fees.

The clarified opinion, here, comes to the same conclusion but sets out the pre- and post-October 2007 statute and confirms the change is a substantive one and that costs charged shall be included in the judgment.

Again, it is worth pointing out that an arbitrator's award is essentially just a jury verdict. It typically does not include charged costs. However, under this statute, the court compares the award (essentially the "verdict") to judgment [verdict + costs]. Thus, since we are not comparing apples-to-apples, it is fairly easy to "beat" the award since you also get to factor in costs.

Full post as published by Florida Arbitration Law on May 22, 2008 (boomark / email).