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Moore v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.11/2/2005
Perry Moore appeals the final order awarding attorney's fees in his action for no-fault benefits against his insurer, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. After awarding Moore only a portion of the attorney's fees he sought, the county court certified the following question as one of great public importance:
MAY A NO-FAULT PLAINTIFF RECOVER A STATUTORY ATTORNEY'S FEE UNDER A FEE AGREEMENT BETWEEN A PARTY AND HIS COUNSEL IN WHICH IT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN COMPENSATION FOR TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF CASES?
We have jurisdiction. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.030(b)(4)(A). Having reviewed the entire record and the parties' arguments, we rephrase the certified question to read as follows:
MAY AN ATTORNEY AND CLIENT ENTER INTO A SINGLE PERSONAL INJURY REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT THAT INCLUDES ONE FEE AGREEMENT FOR A NEGLIGENCE CASE AGAINST A TORTFEASOR AND A SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT FEE AGREEMENT FOR A BREACH OF CONTRACT CASE AGAINST THE CLIENT'S INSURANCE CARRIER WITHOUT HAVING AN AWARD OF FEES UNDER ONE AGREEMENT LIMITED BY THE OTHER?
We answer the rephrased question in the affirmative, reverse the award of fees entered by the trial court, and remand for further proceedings.
Facts
Moore was injured in an auto accident in 1994. In 1996, Moore retained attorney Wendy Coxhead to represent him in seeking redress for his injuries. In doing so, Moore signed a document entitled "Personal Injury Fee Agreement," which was prepared by Ms. Coxhead. This "Personal Injury Fee Agreement" contained seven subsections which, when considered together, dealt with all aspects of Ms. Coxhead's representation of Moore.
Two of these subsections dealt with the amount of attorney's fees to which Ms. Coxhead would be entitled should Moore prevail in his claims. The first of these was entitled "Agreed Attorney Fees," and it set forth the standard percentage-of-recovery formula for attorney's fees permitted by The Florida Bar. See R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4.15(f)(4)(B). The second subsection was a more specific provision dealing solely with the issue of attorney's fees for seeking payment of no-fault benefits under a policy of automobile insurance. This provision, entitled "No Fault Law Attorney Fees," stated as follows:
NO FAULT LAW ATTORNEY FEES
I understand that the firm will assist in collecting benefits under Florida's No-Fault law without the payment of any additional fees unless it is necessary for the firm to file suit to collect benefits. If the firm files suit, I agree that they will be entitled to any attorney's fee determined to be reasonable by the court and paid by the insurance company or other company providing no-fault benefits and that I will owe them no additional fee for such representation other than the fee awarded by the court to be paid out of the no-fault benefits.
After State Farm refused to pay certain no-fault benefits to Moore, he filed suit. Ultimately, State Farm agreed to settle Moore's no-fault claim for $500. Moore then sought attorney's fees pursuant to the "No Fault Law Attorney Fees" subsection of his agreement with Ms. Coxhead. In doing so, Moore contended that under this subsection he was entitled to a reasonable fee as determined by the court pursuant to section 627.428, Florida Statutes (1995).
In opposition to Moore's motion, State Farm argued that while Moore might be entitled to a fee pursuant to section 627.428, the amount of such fee was limited to the specified percentage of the settlement amount provided by the "Agreed Attorney Fees" subsection of the representation agreement. In making this argument, State Farm relied
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