Special's Trading Co. v. International Consumer Corp., 95-1232
Decision Date | 18 September 1996 |
Docket Number | No. 95-1232,95-1232 |
Citation | 679 So.2d 369 |
Parties | 21 Fla. L. Weekly D2055 SPECIAL'S TRADING COMPANY, a Foreign Corporation, Appellant, v. INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER CORP., a Florida Corporation, Appellee. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Thomas D. Daiello of Marchbanks, Daiello & Leider, P.A., Boca Raton, for appellant.
W. Jeffrey Barnes of J. Barnes & Associates, P.A., Boca Raton, for appellee.
In this case, the trial judge was presented with an issue previously decided by the second district court of appeal but concluded that he would not follow it. In reversing, we write to emphasize the rule that all trial judges in Florida are bound by stare decisis to follow any district court of appeal decision on point when their own district has not decided the issue.
Plaintiff sued defendant for breach of contract. During the progress of the case, defendant served an offer of judgment under section 768.79, Florida Statutes (1995). At a later hearing on defendant's motion for sanctions, plaintiff announced a voluntary dismissal of its case without prejudice. Because plaintiff did not accept the offer of judgment, defendant timely moved for an award of attorney's fees under section 768.79. At the hearing on the motion for fees, defendant argued that Tampa Letter Carriers v. Mack, 649 So.2d 890 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), was dispositive of the issue of entitlement. The trial court declined to follow Tampa Letter Carriers, however, and denied the motion. This appeal timely followed.
In Pardo v. State, 596 So.2d 665 (Fla.1992), the supreme court held:
"Initially, we note that the district court erred in commenting that decisions of other district courts of appeal were not binding on the trial court. This Court has stated that '[t]he decisions of the district courts of appeal represent the law of Florida unless and until they are overruled by this Court.' Stanfill v. State, 384 So.2d 141, 143 (Fla.1980). Thus, in the absence of interdistrict conflict, district court decisions bind all Florida trial courts. Weiman v. McHaffie, 470 So.2d 682, 684 (Fla.1985) . The purpose of this rule was explained by the Fourth District in State v. Hayes:
333 So.2d 51, 53 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976) (footnote and citations omitted). [f.o.] Consequently, the trial court in this case was bound by the Fifth District's decision in Kopko."
Pardo applies in this case because the decision of the second district in Tampa Letter Carriers clearly addresses the identical issue confronted by the trial court in this case. A trial judge in Florida is not free to refuse to follow applicable precedent from another district merely because the trial judge disagrees with the holding of that district court. From that standpoint alone, the decision below is in error and must be reversed.
To eliminate unnecessary, further appeals in this case, however, we proceed to address the substantive issue, i.e. whether a party can avoid liability under section 768.79 for offer of judgment attorney's fees by simply dismissing his claim before suffering an adverse adjudication. While concededly the act of filing a voluntary dismissal would vindicate the purpose of the act to encourage the early disposition of civil actions for damages, just as a formal settlement through the offer would do, we do not construe statutes on their purposes but on their text. Miele v. Prudential-Bache Securities, Inc., 656 So.2d 470 (Fla.1995) ( ). It is thus to the text of the statute that we refer to answer the question here.
Subsection (6) of section 768.79, Florida Statutes (1995), provides in part as follows:
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