Plaintiff’s attorney then brought the settlement matter to the attention of the trial judge who stated: (Notably, the settlement offer had no deadline for acceptance or withdrawal nor was there any evidence that plaintiff’s attorney had rejected the offer as made or countered with a change in its terms.) Offer was withdrawn, we will proceed.” Plaintiff’s attorney demanded that the settlement agreement be honored, but defense counsel refused. Plaintiff’s counsel followed up with a text message to defense counsel.Īpproximately 15 minutes later and before the court was scheduled to reconvene, defense counsel returned plaintiff’s counsel’s test with a text of her own stating, “Sorry. The following day, during a break in testimony, plaintiff’s attorney advised defense counsel that plaintiff accepted the offer. That evening, defense counsel confirmed in a text message that the offer was still open. In the underlying case, the defendants’ attorney had extended a $700,000 settlement offer during the course of the trial. In Tielke, a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney filed a breach of contract claim against the defendants and their attorney in an underlying slip and fall case after the underlying case went to verdict. It also may lead to a malpractice claim against plaintiff’s counsel. Those mistakes proved very costly to the plaintiff’s personal injury case, resulting in a loss to the plaintiff of nearly $400,000. The case involves mistakes made by both a trial judge and a plaintiff’s attorney as well as a possible ethical violation by a defense counsel. (1st) (181756), filed August 16, 2019, is a must read for members of the bench and bar who are engaged in litigation. The recent first district opinion in Tielke v.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |