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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVII(A) Consideration of Offer of Judgement in Asset Management Litigation Agenda 06-15-2004 Item VII A FOLEY FOLEY& LARDNER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW MEMORANDUM CLIENT-MATTER NUMBER 020377-0618 TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of Ocoee FROM: John R. Hamilton, Assistant City Attorney THROUGH: Paul E. Rosenthal, City Attorney DATE: June 8, 2004 RE: Asset Management Consultants of Virginia, Inc. v. City of Ocoee, Case No. 04- CA-30-84: Authority Sought for Offer of Judgment This lawsuit was filed on March 30, 2004, and it is pending in the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, in and for Orange County, Florida. The plaintiff, Asset Management Consultants of Virginia, Inc., sued the City to obtain refunds of Interim Services Fees that numerous entities paid to the City over the course of several years. The fees were charged pursuant to Sections 90-1 through 90-9 of the City Code. The entities that paid the fees assigned their refund rights, if any,to the plaintiff. The City suspended its imposition and collection of Interim Services Fees at a City Commission meeting held on August 17, 1999. Since that time,the City has not charged or collected any Interim Services Fees. For that reason, we believe the plaintiff's claims are barred by virtue of the applicable four-year statute of limitations, and we have filed, on the City's behalf, a:. option for summary judgment based upon that ground. The motion is currently s g Argust 16, 2004. Based upon actions that this same plaintiff has taken in si Y may appeal if the court grants the City's motion for 3 sum 91a17 The City currently has no legal basis for recovering its attorneys' 41111.1111.114118 plaintiff if the City successfully defeats the lawsuit. A basis for such a recovery could, however, be created through the offer-of-judgment procedure permitted under Florida law. Specifically, if the City offers to pay a certain amount to the plaintiff to settle the case and the plaintiff does not accept that offer within 30 days, the City could potentially recover the attorneys' fees incurred after the date of the offer if the City ultimately prevails in the lawsuit 006.338093.1 FOLEY&LARDNER LLP • FOLEY or the plaintiff does not recover at least 75 percent of the settlement amount the City offers. The potential entitlement to attorneys' fees would extend to both the fees that the City incurs in the trial-court proceedings and the fees that the City incurs at the appellate level. We recommend that the City authorize us to submit an offer of judgment to the plaintiff, so that the City will (if the offer is rejected)have a potential basis for recovering its attorneys' fees if the City prevails in this case. Our recommendation is that the City Commission authorize us to submit an offer of judgment in the amount of$1,000. Because of the statute-of-limitations defense available to the City, we see no merit to the plaintiff's claims. We therefore believe that the City's offer of judgment be limited to a relatively small sum. At the same time, the offer should be in an amount sufficient to satisfy the good-faith requirement that Florida law applies to offers of judgment. In our opinion, an offer of judgment in the amount of$1,000 would be appropriate under the circumstances of this case. If accepted, the City would pay $1,000 to Asset Management Consultants of Virginia, Inc. RECOMMENDATION: It respectfully is recommended that the City Commission authorize the City Attorney to submit on behalf of the City an Offer of Judgment in the amount of $1,000 to Asset Management Consultants of Virginia, Inc. in settlement of Asset Management Consultants of Virginia, Inc. v. City of Ocoee, Case No. 04-CA-30-84 and to file such additional documents as may be necessary in connection therewith. 2 FOLEY&LARDNER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW A%& 99041•+e.