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Eastman v. Flor-Ohio9/17/1999
narrow parameters set forth in Sikes. Perhaps the least compelling reason is the negative effect such a ruling would have on the work load of the appellate courts. If we were to issue a ruling that appeals are required in all cases in order to preserve the client's right to subsequently pursue a claim for legal malpractice, meritless appeals would be prosecuted by litigants solely for the purpose of preserving their right to later assert a malpractice claim. Of course, such a ruling would also discourage parties from settling pending appeals and would be inconsistent with the party's legal duty to mitigate their damages. See Zinn v. GJPS Lukas, Inc., 695 So. 2d 499, 501 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (holding that where business suffers from act of negligence, the amount of lost profits recoverable will depend, in part, upon whether the plaintiff discharged their duty to mitigate their damages). A more important reason is that such a ruling would require litigants to spend yet more of their resources prosecuting an appeal to judicial Conclusion even though they may disagree with the theory of the appeal they would be required to maintain. For example, here the park owner would have been first required to pursue its appeal arguing that the trial court erred in ruling that the law firm had improperly prepared and delivered the rental increase notices. Thereafter, in its legal malpractice case, the park owner would have been required to argue that the law firm was negligent in preparing and delivering the notices.
The law firm raised two other claims of trial error. First, the law firm contended that the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence the settlement agreement between the park owner and the lot owners. The record reflects that the trial court carefully considered the park owner's request that the entire settlement agreement should be admitted into evidence. After reviewing the agreement, the trial court held that it was not admissible because the probative value of the agreement was outweighed by its potential prejudicial effect. See ยง 90.403, Fla. Stat. (1997). The trial court also specifically found that the relevant provisions of the agreement had already been presented to the jury and that the agreement itself would be merely cumulative. The trial court did not abuse its broad discretion by refusing to admit the settlement agreement into evidence. See Jent v. State, 408 So. 2d 1024, 1029 (Fla. 1981), modified on other grounds, Preston v. State, 444 So. 2d 939 (Fla. 1984); see also Dale v. Ford Motor Co., 409 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). Second, the law firm contended that the trial court erred in denying its motion for new trial. Our review of the record reveals that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the verdict was not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, and therefore this contention is also without merit. See Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Robinson, 472 So. 2d 722 (Fla. 1985).
AFFIRMED.
COBB and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
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