Sandra Kent Wheaton v. Mardella Wheaton
Sandra Kent Wheaton v. Mardella Wheaton
Opinion
*1237
Petitioner Sandra Wheaton seeks review of the decision of the Third District Court of Appeal in
Wheaton v. Wheaton
,
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Respondent, Mardella Wheaton, sued her ex-daughter-in-law, Petitioner, Sandra Wheaton, for unlawful detainer. Petitioner served a proposal for settlement on Respondent via email. Respondent received the proposal but did not accept it.
The trial court granted Petitioner's motion for summary judgment.
1
Petitioner then moved to enforce her proposal for settlement and to collect attorney's fees. Respondent opposed the motion on three grounds: (1) the proposal was vague; (2) the proposal was not made in good faith; and (3) the proposal failed to strictly comply with the e-mail service requirements of rule 2.516. The trial court rejected the vagueness argument but agreed that the proposal failed to strictly comply with the requirements of rule 2.516.
2
The basis for the trial court's ruling was that Petitioner's email "did not include a certificate of service, a subject line containing the words 'SERVICE OF COURT DOCUMENTS,' and [failed to comply with] other requirements of rules 1.442, 1.080 and 2.516 of the Florida Rules of [Civil Procedure and Judicial Administration.]" In support of its conclusion, the trial court relied on the Fourth District Court of Appeal's decision in
Matte v. Caplan
,
Petitioner appealed the trial court's decision to the Third District Court of Appeal, arguing that "because the proposal for settlement is neither a pleading nor a 'document filed in any court proceeding,' it is
*1238
not subject to the requirements of rule 2.516."
Wheaton
,
the document in question (the proposal for settlement) is "permitted to be served on another party." And because the parties did not "otherwise stipulate," and because the rule does not "otherwise provide," this proposal for settlement " must be served by e-mail" and therefore must be served in compliance with the e-mail requirements of rule 2.516, regardless of whether the document is contemporaneously filed with the court. We find this language plain and unambiguous, and hold that a proposal for settlement falls clearly within the scope of rule 2.516(b) and is subject to that rule's requirements.
Petitioner filed a motion for rehearing, arguing that the district court's decision was inconsistent with this Court's decision in
Kuhajda v. Borden Dairy Co. of Alabama, LLC
,
ANALYSIS
The conflict issue presented is whether proposals for settlement made pursuant to section 768.79, Florida Statutes, and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 must comply with the email service provisions of Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516. The standard of review in determining whether an offer of settlement comports with section 768.79, Florida Statutes, and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 and is de novo.
Pratt v. Weiss
,
Relevant Provisions
Section 768.79, Florida Statutes ("Offer of judgment and demand for judgment"), "provides a sanction against a party who unreasonably rejects a settlement offer."
Willis Shaw Exp., Inc. v. Hilyer Sod, Inc.
,
In any civil action for damages filed in the courts of this state, if a defendant *1239 files an offer of judgment which is not accepted by the plaintiff within 30 days, the defendant shall be entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorney's fees incurred by her or him on the defendant's behalf ... if ... the judgment obtained by the plaintiff is at least 25 percent less than such offer, and the court shall set off such costs and attorney's fees against the award.
The statute further provides that an offer shall:
(a) Be in writing and state that it is being made pursuant to this section.
(b) Name the party making it and the party to whom it is being made.
(c) State with particularity the amount offered to settle a claim for punitive damages, if any.
(d) State the total amount.
§ 768.79(2), Fla. Stat. (2018). The section also states that a proposal "shall be served upon the party to whom it is made, but it shall not be filed unless it is accepted or unless filing is necessary to enforce the provisions of this section." § 768.79(3), Fla. Stat. (2018).
Section 768.79 is implemented by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 ("Proposals for Settlement"). The rule provides that a proposal shall:
(A) name the party or parties making the proposal and the party or parties to whom the proposal is being made;
(B) state that the proposal resolves all damages that would otherwise be awarded in a final judgment in the action in which the proposal is served, subject to subdivision (F);
(C) state with particularity any relevant provisions;
(D) state the total amount of the proposal and state with particularity all nonmonetary terms of the proposal;
(E) state with particularity the amount proposed to settle a claim for punitive damages, if any;
(F) state whether the proposal includes attorneys' fees and whether attorneys' fees are part of the legal claim; and
(G) include a certificate of service in the form required by rule 1.080.
Fla. R. App. P. 1.442(c)(2). The rule also states that a proposal "shall be served on the party or parties to whom it is made but shall not be filed unless necessary to enforce the provisions of this rule." Fla. R. App. P. 1.442(d).
While rule 1.442 requires proposals for settlement to include a certificate of service, rule 1.080 no longer contains a certificate of service provision. Instead, the rule states that "[e]very pleading subsequent to the initial pleading, all orders, and every other document filed in the action must be served in conformity with the requirements of Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516." Fla. R. Civ P. 1.080(a). 3
The relevant portions of rule 2.516 provide:
(a) Service; When Required. Unless the court otherwise orders, or a statute or supreme court administrative order specifies a different means of service, every pleading subsequent to the initial pleading and every other document filed in any court proceeding , except applications for witness subpoenas and documents served by formal notice or required to be served in the manner provided for service of formal notice, must be served in accordance with this *1240 rule on each party . No service need be made on parties against whom a default has been entered, except that pleadings asserting new or additional claims against them must be served in the manner provided for service of summons.
(b) Service; How Made. When service is required or permitted to be made upon a party represented by an attorney, service must be made upon the attorney unless service upon the party is ordered by the court.
(1) Service by Electronic Mail ("e-mail"). All documents required or permitted to be served on another party must be served by e-mail, unless the parties otherwise stipulate or this rule otherwise provides. A filer of an electronic document has complied with this subdivision if the Florida Courts e-filing Portal ("Portal") or other authorized electronic filing system with a supreme court approved electronic service system ("e-Service system") served the document by e-mail or provided a link by e-mail to the document on a website maintained by a clerk ("e-Service"). The filer of an electronic document must verify that the Portal or other e-Service system uses the names and e-mail addresses provided by the parties pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(A).
(Emphasis added.) The rule goes on to provide the following formatting requirements:
(i) All documents served by e-mail must be sent by an e-mail message containing a subject line beginning with the words "SERVICE OF COURT DOCUMENT" in all capital letters, followed by the case number and case style of the proceeding in which the documents are being served.
(ii) The body of the e-mail must identify the court in which the proceeding is pending, the case number, the name of the initial party on each side, the title of each document served with that e-mail, and the name and telephone number of the person required to serve the document.
(iii) Any document served by e-mail may be signed by any of the "/s/," "/s," or "s/" formats.
(iv) Any e-mail which, together with its attached documents, exceeds the appropriate size limitations specified in the Florida Supreme Court Standards for Electronic Access to the Court, must be divided and sent as separate e-mails, no one of which may exceed the appropriate size limitations specified in the Florida Supreme Court Standards for Electronic Access to the Court and each of which must be sequentially numbered in the subject line.
Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.516(b)(1)(E)(i)-(iv).
Conflict Cases
In
Boatright
, the plaintiffs served four proposals for settlement on the defendants-one from each plaintiff to each defendant.
Boatright
,
In reversing the trial court, the Second District held that "proposals for settlement are not subject to the service requirements of rule 2.516 because the proposals do not meet rule 1.080(a)'s threshold requirement
*1241
that they be 'filed in the action.' "
In
McCoy
, the plaintiff served a proposal for settlement on each of three defendants by U.S. certified mail.
McCoy
,
The Fourth District reversed the trial court, finding that "[w]here a party has actual notice of an offer of settlement, and the offering party has satisfied the requirements of section 768.79 on entitlement, to deny recovery because the initial offer was not emailed is to allow the procedural tail of the law to wag the substantive dog."
The district court also disagreed with Wheaton , stating that in reaching its conclusion, the Third District
imports language from rule 2.516(b) to add words to the plain language of 2.516(a). Instead of focusing on subsection 2.516(a), which specifies when email service is "required," the Wheaton court looked to subsection 2.516(b) to hold that email service was required for the initial delivery of an offer of judgment.
We disagree with Wheaton ; subsection (a) is not ambiguous, so a court should not add words to manipulate its meaning.
In
Oldcastle
, the plaintiff sent a proposal for settlement by email to the defendant.
Oldcastle
,
The district court acknowledged that the plaintiff's proposal did not comply with the formatting requirements set forth by rule 2.516(b)(1)(E). However, the court found that these requirements did not apply because "compliance with rule 2.516 is not required when serving a proposal for settlement."
*1242 Interpretation
We have previously stated that both rule 1.442 and section 768.79 should be strictly construed.
See
Campbell v. Goldman
,
From the plain language of section 768.79 and rule 1.442, neither require service by email. The procedure for communicating an offer of settlement is set out in section 768.79(3), Florida Statutes (2018), which states:
The offer shall be served upon the party to whom it is made, but it shall not be filed unless it is accepted or unless filing is necessary to enforce the provisions of this section.
(Emphasis added.) The statute only requires that the offer be served on the party to whom it is directed and not be filed with the court but does not require service by email.
Similarly, subdivision (d) of rule 1.442 outlines the procedure for communicating a proposal for settlement to the opposing party. The subdivision states:
(d) Service and Filing. A proposal shall be served on the party or parties to whom it is made but shall not be filed unless necessary to enforce the provisions of this rule.
Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.442(d). Again, the rule provides that the offer must be served on the party to whom it is directed and not filed with the court but does not require service by email. However, unlike section 768.79, rule 1.442 provides that a proposal for settlement must "include a certificate of service in the form required by rule 1.080." Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.442(c)(2)(G).
As previously mentioned, rule 1.080 does not specify the form of the certificate of service. Instead, the rule provides:
Every pleading subsequent to the initial pleading, all orders, and every other document filed in the action must be served in conformity with the requirements of Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516.
Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.080(a) (emphasis added). This does not apply to proposals for settlement because a settlement offer is neither a pleading subsequent to the initial pleading, an order, or a document filed with the court. Accordingly, based on rule 1.080's plain language, rule 2.516 would not apply to proposals for settlement made pursuant to section 768.79 and rule 1.442.
It appears that in reaching its conclusion to the contrary, the Third District focused on construing rule 2.516 more than section 768.79 and rule 1.442. However, even the plain language of rule 2.516 does not support the Third District's conclusion. The provisions of rule 2.516 that are at issue in this case are subdivision (a), "Service; When Required," and subdivision (b), "Service; How Made." According to the first subdivision, "every pleading subsequent to the initial pleading and every other document filed in any court proceeding ... must be served in accordance with *1243 this rule." Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.516(a). The rule goes on to state in the second subdivision that "[a]ll documents required or permitted to be served on another party must be served by e-mail, unless the parties otherwise stipulate or this rule provides otherwise." Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.516(b)(1). Therefore, the plain language of the rule provides that if a document is (1) a pleading subsequent to the initial pleading, or (2) a document filed in any court proceeding, it must be served according to the rule. Then, the rule goes on to provide that service must be made by email if the document (1) requires service or (2) permits service.
The Third District appeared to agree that the rule only requires service if the document is a pleading subsequent to the initial pleading or a document filed in any court proceeding because it determined that a proposal for settlement is a document that is "permitted to be served on another party."
Wheaton
,
In support of its conclusion, the Third District relied on two cases: the First District's decision in
Floyd
,
*1244
Boatright
,
Moreover, even if this Court were to accept the Third District's interpretation, Petitioner's failure to comply with the email formatting requirements set forth in rule 2.516 would not render the proposal unenforceable. Respondent contends that when parties seek to obtain attorney's fees, "all t's must be crossed and i's dotted."
Campbell
,
As applied to the instant case, even if we were to find that rule 2.516 applied to proposals for settlement, Petitioner's failure to comply with the rule would not render the proposal unenforceable because the proposal complied with the substantive requirements set forth by section 768.79. Petitioner's proposal was in writing, stated that it was made pursuant to the section, named the party making the offer and the party to whom it was made, stated the amount offered to settle, and the total amount as required by the statute. See § 768.79(2)(a)-(d). Moreover, the proposal stated that it would resolve all damages that would otherwise be awarded in a final judgment, stated the relevant conditions, and whether the proposal included attorney's fees as required by the additional provisions found in the rule implementing the section. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.442(c)(2). The only deficiencies the trial court found in the proposal were related to requirements set forth by rule 2.516. However, pursuant to Kuhajda , that should not be enough to find that the proposal is unenforceable. Because the proposal complied with the substantive requirements set forth by the statute, the proposal is valid.
CONCLUSION
The plain language of section 768.79 and rule 1.442 do not require service by email. Moreover, because a proposal for settlement is a document that is required to be served on the party to whom it is made, rule 2.516 does not apply. Accordingly, the Third District erred in affirming the trial court. Accordingly, we quash Wheaton , approve Boatright , McCoy , and Oldcastle , and remand for proceedings consistent with this decision.
It is so ordered.
PARIENTE, LEWIS, POLSTON, and LABARGA, JJ., concur.
CANADY, C.J., concurs in result with an opinion, in which LAWSON, J., concurs.
CANADY, C.J., concurring in result.
*1245 I agree with the majority's conclusion that the "Petitioner's failure to comply with the email formatting requirements" of Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516 is not a basis for determining the settlement proposal to be invalid. Majority op. at 1244. But I disagree with the majority's holding that proposals for settlement are not subject to the email service requirement of rule 2.516. Majority op. at 1243. So I would adopt the Third District's view of the interpretation of rule 2.516 but reject its conclusion that the settlement offer was invalid.
The adoption of rule 2.516 was the culmination of an effort to develop "a
comprehensive
proposal to implement e-mail service in Florida."
In re Amendments to Fla. Rules of Judicial Admin., Fla. Rules of Civil Procedure, Fla. Rules of Criminal Procedure, Fla. Prob. Rules, Fla. Rules of Traffic Court, Fla. Small Claims Rules, Fla. Rules of Juvenile Procedure, Fla. Rules of Appellate Procedure, Fla. Family Law Rules of Procedure-E-Mail Serv. Rule
,
Subdivision (a) of rule 2.516 contains general provisions concerning the requirements for service of pleadings and other documents that are "filed in any court proceeding." Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.516(a). The scope of subdivision (a) is thus limited to court filings. But that does not mean that the scope of subdivision (b) is similarly limited. Subdivision (a) simply does not address documents that are not filed. Subdivision (b), by its express terms, specifies how service must be made whenever "service is required or permitted to be made." Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.516(b). By its plain language, the scope of subdivision (b) necessarily extends beyond documents that are filed in court proceedings to include documents that are served but not filed.
The majority errs in relying on the reference in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442(c)(2)(G) to "a certificate of service in the form required by rule 1.080." Majority op. at 1242. Since the adoption of rule 2.516 in 2012, rule 1.080 has not contained a form certificate of service. With the adoption of rule 2.516 the form certificate of service was moved to the new rule, where it is set forth in subdivision (f). So the reference on which the majority relies is an obsolete, erroneous reference to a superseded version of rule 1.080-a nonsensical reference that can only be treated as meaningless. It can certainly provide no guidance for interpreting the scope of rule 2.516(b), much less a basis for disregarding the plain language of that rule.
LAWSON, J., concurs.
Respondent appealed the summary judgment loss to the Third District, which affirmed the trial court per curiam.
Wheaton v. Wheaton
,
Because the trial court found that the proposal was unenforceable, it did not reach the issue of whether the offer was made in good faith.
Rule 1.080(f) used to contain a certificate of service provision, but it was deleted in 2012 when rule 2.516 was adopted.
See
In re Amend. to Fla. Rules of Jud. Admin.
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Sandra Kent WHEATON, Petitioner, v. Mardella WHEATON, Respondent.
- Cited By
- 7 cases
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- Published