Wagner, Vaughan, McLaughlin & Brennan, P.a., Petitioner v. Kennedy Law Group, Respondent

Summary

The court held that the attorney-fee provision of the Florida Wrongful Death Act applies to wrongful-death claims settled before suit is filed. It further held that when survivors retain separate counsel, the survivors thereby present competing interests, and fees must be allocated according to the attorneys’ respective work without charging survivors twice for the same recovery. The court approved the lower appellate decision in part, quashed it in part, and remanded for determination of reasonable compensation for the survivors’ attorneys.