Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

Contracts

A physician performed surgery on a patient. The patient was unhappy with the result. The physician wrote in his chart that ''I have agreed to return the patient's surgical fee if there is no further litigation''. The patient did not accept this offer, and took the case to small claims court for a much higher amount. The judge dismissed the case because a malpractice case could not be tried in small claims court. The patient brought a new case to small claims court for the amount of the surgical fee indicating that the physician had signed a contract to return his surgical fee because he made that notation in the chart. The main question is: Was there a contract formed initially even though the patient initially did not agree to accept the offer of a refund of his surgical fee? He instead chose to litigate. Doesn't this void the ''contract''. Even if you assume the contract was formed, wasn't it nullified by the fact that the physician wrote in his chart that the fee would be returned if there was ''no further litigation''? How long would this kind of ''contract'' be deemed to last. Shouldn't there be a reasonable length of time on this kind of ''contract''?


Asked on 3/11/02, 8:09 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Peter Gonzalez Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Crespo, Gomez & MachadoLLP

Re: Contracts

Based on the information provided, there is no legally binding contract. Any complaint filed in any court for breach of contract based on the facts presented should be dismissed. The basic elements necessary for the formation of a contract is an offer, acceptance and an exchange of consideration. In this case, the offer was not accepted, so there is no agreement.

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Answered on 3/12/02, 11:04 am
Jon Zahaby Tour bus, scenic and sightseeing, operation

Re: Contracts

There is simply no contract. There was an offer but no acceptace. Instead, the contract was repudiated by one party. Valid contractual agreements require: Offer, Acceptance and Valid Consideration (i.e. $$).

ALOHA,

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Answered on 3/11/02, 8:17 pm


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