Brown v. Progressive Casualty Insurance
Brown v. Progressive Casualty Insurance
Opinion of the Court
These two appeals grow out of a single auto accident and the resulting litigation.
Shortly before trial, a settlement was reached. A joint “Motion for Order of Dismissal” was signed by plaintiff’s counsel and the one attorney representing defendant and defendant’s insurance company. The joint motion recited “that all matters and things in controversy between them have been amicably settled and adjusted.” Pursuant to the joint motion an order of dismissal was entered reciting that “the above entitled action be and the same is hereby dismissed .” Almost simultaneously Brown’s personal counsel filed a voluntary dismissal of his counterclaim. This voluntary dismissal stated it was “without prejudice.” The order of dismissal was entered on May 10,1978. The terms of the settlement between Brown and Lawrence were that Brown’s carrier pay Lawrence the sum of approximately $6,000 in return for a complete release from Lawrence.
Several months later on August 28, 1978, Brown and his wife
Brown’s counsel then moved to withdraw his notice of voluntary dismissal in the first case and to have the dismissed counterclaim set for trial in that case. These motions were denied and the present appeals are taken from the orders entered in both cases disposing of the counterclaim adversely to Brown. The court also taxed costs against Brown in case no. 76-1342 by order of August 18, 1980. The appellee concedes this order to have been improper and it is thus vacated.
Brown now argues that all parties knew he intended to dismiss his counterclaim because of certain evidentiary problems and to refile it at a later date. Despite this assertion on appeal, it appears this factual issue has never been presented to nor decided by the trial court. The motion to dismiss with prejudice made in the new case was based solely upon the state of the record. On the face of the record Brown had dismissed what was obviously a compulsory counterclaim and an order had been entered by the trial court dismissing the entire action with prejudice. The documents contained in the two court files support the actions of the trial court in dismissing the second suit with prejudice.
The only real issue raised on appeal is that the result is unfair because all three lawyers involved knew Brown intended to pursue his counterclaim later. Once again, nothing in the pleadings before the trial court so indicates. A motion for relief under Rule 1.540 of the Rules of Civil Procedure might have presented the argued misunderstanding of counsel as a factual issue for determination. Instead the trial court was presented only with defendant’s motion to dismiss based on the prior dismissal of the compulsory counterclaim and the prior order which dismissed the “action” with “prejudice.”
AFFIRMED.
. The issue of whether the wife’s claim could be maintained notwithstanding prior disposition of the husband’s claim is not presented as an issue on appeal and is not here decided. See Resmondo v. International Builders of Florida, Inc., 265 So.2d 72 (Fla. 1st DCA 1972).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Charles A. BROWN and Miriam Brown, husband and wife v. PROGRESSIVE CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, a foreign corporation, and Willie Henry Lawrence, Jr., Appellees Charles A. BROWN, Jr. v. Willie Henry LAWRENCE, Jr., Excell Insurance Company, a foreign corporation, authorized to do business in the State of Florida, and Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, a foreign corporation
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published