Munroe v. U.S. Food Service, 1D07-1941.

• Decision Date: 27 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. 1D07-1941.,1D07-1941.
• Citation: 985 So.2d 654
• Parties: Ainsley MUNROE, Appellant, v. U.S. FOOD SERVICE and Ace American Insurance, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

985 So.2d 654

Ainsley MUNROE, Appellant, v. U.S. FOOD SERVICE and Ace American Insurance, Appellees.

No. 1D07-1941.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

June 27, 2008.

Bram J. Gechtman of Downs, Brill, & Whitehead, Coral Gables; Marjorie Gadarian Graham of Marjorie Gadarian Graham, P.A., Palm Beach Gardens, for Appellant.

David P. Carugati of Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP, Miami, for Appellees.

PER CURIAM.

Claimant Ainsley Munroe appeals from an order enforcing a settlement agreement with the employer, U.S. Food Service, and carrier, Ace American Insurance (the E/C). We conclude that the document at issue was not a completed settlement agreement, and reverse.

Munroe was injured at work on April 11, 2006. Claimant and the E/C entered into mediation, and the mediator issued the following Mediation Settlement Agreement Report:

Contingent upon employer/carrier approval, the parties agree to a total settlement of $30,000, out of which claimant will pay attorney fees + costs of $5000. Claimant will net $25,000.

E/C has 20 days for the contingency. If e/c does not approve of $30,000, claimant has option of accepting $25,000 total with $5000 to attorney + therefore [$]20,000 to claimant net.

Claimant agrees to sign a General Release + Voluntary Resignation.

E/C agrees to authorize physical therapy until Judge signs order.

(Emphasis added.) It was signed by Munroe, his attorney, and the E/C's attorney. Munroe retained a new lawyer who sent a letter to the E/C two days later stating that Munroe had opted out of the mediation agreement. The carrier replied eleven days later that the E/C had obtained "$30,000.00 in settlement authority," thus satisfying the contingency in the settlement agreement, and asserted that "the agreement is enforceable as the contingency was not mutual."

The judge of compensation claims granted the E/C's motion to enforce, concluding as a matter of law that the parties had entered into a binding agreement.

Interpretation of settlement agreements is governed by contract law, and whether an agreement constitutes a valid contract is a matter of law subject to de novo review. See Gunderson v. Sch. Dist. of Hillsborough County, 937 So.2d 777, 779 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). Conditioning a contract upon approval by one of the parties shows that a binding contract has not yet been formed. See Meekins-Bamman Prestress, Inc. v. Better Constr., Inc., 408 So.2d 1071, 1073 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) ("It is universally held that a document . . . which specifically conditions the contractual effectiveness of a proposal by a projected seller upon its own subsequent approval, constitutes no more than a solicitation to the prospective purchaser to make an offer itself."); Rudolph v. Lewis, 418 So.2d 296, 297 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982) ("An acceptance clause specifically limits the authority of an agent and reduces an agreement to the status of an unaccepted offer. . . . Only when the agent's principal accepts the...