Florida’s offer-of-judgment statute, designed to encourage settlements, is not a prevailing-party statute, the Supreme Court has ruled.

In the June 15 decision, Brinda Coates v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Case No. SC2021-0175, Justice Jamie Grosshans refers to a “recurring issue of law” that has arisen concerning F.S. §768.79 (1922).

“Specifically, whether a party must prevail in a proceeding to be entitled to fees. We hold that the statute does not impose this requirement and, thus, is not a prevailing-party statute.”