Dam v. Heart of Florida Hosp., Inc., 88-172
| Decision Date | 06 January 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-172,88-172 |
| Citation | 536 So.2d 1177 |
| Parties | Michael E. DAM, Appellant, v. HEART OF FLORIDA HOSPITAL, INC., a Florida nonprofit corporation, Mary T. Erde, Guillermo Allende, Robert E. Lee, Frank Thornton, Frank Snydle, and David Green, Sr., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Tucker H. Byrd of Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, P.A., Orlando, for appellant.
Janet Adams and G. Bruce Hill of Adams, Hill, Fulford & Morgan, Orlando, for appellees Heart of Florida Hosp. Ass'n, Inc. and Mary T. Erde.
A. Thomas Mihok and Todd M. Hoepker of Dempsey & Goldsmith, P.A., Orlando, for appellee Robert E. Lee.
A.H. Lane and Thomas L. Clarke, Jr., of Lane, Trohn, Clarke, Bertrand & Williams, P.A., Lakeland, for appellees Allende, Snydle, Thornton, and Green.
Appellant, Michael E. Dam, M.D., argues that the trial court erred in requiring him to pay attorney's fees and court costs after he voluntarily dismissed his suit challenging suspension of his hospital staff privileges. We disagree.
Dam sued Appellees Heart of Florida Hospital, Inc., its administrator, and members of its executive committee and board of governors, claiming that his hospital staff privileges were wrongfully suspended. The court denied his request for a temporary injunction.
Appellees filed various pretrial motions along with a request that Dam post bond in an amount sufficient to pay attorney's fees and costs pursuant to section 395.0115(5)(b), Florida Statutes (1987). After a hearing on the motions and bond request but before the trial judge ruled, appellant voluntarily dismissed his suit. The dismissal was without prejudice. See Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.420(a)(1). The trial court awarded appellees attorney's fees and costs as authorized by section 395.0115(5)(a).
On appeal, Dam raises three issues concerning the trial court's award of attorney's fees and costs. We find none of his arguments meritorious, but we discuss briefly his contention that the trial court improperly determined that appellees were "prevailing defendants" as a matter of law.
In response to a perceived crisis in the delivery of medical services and the need for cost containment, the legislature amended section 395.0115 in 1985 as part of its overall reform of the medical malpractice statutes. See Ch. 85-175, Laws of Fla. The amended statute details a procedure for licensed health care facilities to follow when disciplining staff members for alleged misconduct. Subsection (2) grants the hospital, its medical staff, governing board, and other individuals immunity from monetary liability for their participation in internal disciplinary proceedings. Subsection 5(b) requires staff members who contest disciplinary actions to post a bond or other security, and subsection 5(a) awards attorney's fees and costs to "prevailing defendants." We think the statute, as amended, is preemptive of other means available to challenge disciplinary actions.
Dam argues that the trial court erred in finding that appellees were "prevailing parties" as a matter of law because the record does not establish that appellees would have prevailed on the merits. We disag...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Alhambra Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Asad
...second and fifth districts have rejected the Simmons approach to prevailing party attorney's fee statutes. See Dam v. Heart of Fla. Hosp., Inc., 536 So.2d 1177 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Vidibor v. Adams, 509 So.2d 973 (Fla. 5th DCA Dam involved a plaintiff doctor who brought suit against a hospit......
-
Rose Printing Co., Inc. v. Wilson
...So.2d 755 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); and Goldstein v. Richter, 538 So.2d 473, 475 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). But see, Dam v. Heart of Florida Hosp., Inc., 536 So.2d 1177, 1178 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); and Vidibor v. Adams, 509 So.2d 973, 974 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987) (rejecting Simmons). Because the fee award in t......
-
Marriage of Roerig, In re, 92-468
...was the prevailing party and as such is entitled to reasonable attorney fees under the procedural rule. Dam v. Heart of Fla. Hosp., Inc., 536 So.2d 1177, 1178 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1989) (citing Jackson, 288 So.2d at 566; 51 Island Way Condominium Ass'n, 458 So.2d at 366). We believe the legisla......
-
AJAX PAVING INDUSTRIES, INC. v. Hardaway Co., 2D01-4362.
...568 So.2d 914, 919 (Fla. 1990); see also Prescott v. Anthony, 803 So.2d 835, 836-37 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001); Dam v. Heart of Fla. Hosp., Inc., 536 So.2d 1177, 1178 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Landry, 731 So.2d at 139-40; Oakwood Plaza, L.P. v. D.O.C. Optics Corp., 708 So.2d 959, 960 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).......