Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Florida
Attorney responsibilities if client dies pending suit?
Does an attorney have a duty or obligation to inform the other party if his client dies prior to the attorney making a pre-trial settlement offer in a small civil suit?
Case was scheduled for trial end of October, client died 3 weeks before this. Deceased clients attorney made settlement offer without giving any indication his client was recently deceased.
This civil case basically amounted to a ''he said she said'' dispute between and elderly pair to a over a breakup and a $3,000 engagement ring and that he did not return some of her equivalent value items to her
If the attorney laid all the cards on the table by stating his client was deceased and that the case was still being actively pursued that is perfectly acceptable.
Petending his client was still alive and kicking and the case was ready to go to trial was ludicrous. This was settled because the woman moved out of state.
The ring was sold so was non-returnable, this ornery old man spent close to this amount litigating this issue via depositions and such, and his family wanted nothing to do with that matter. Since his attorney cashed the settlement check it is probably not unreasonable to assume he took the $2,000 settlement as monies owed to him.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Attorney responsibilities if client dies pending suit?
No. If the offer was made with the approval of the personal representative it is probably valid. It is possible that trhere was no valid contract if the attorney did not have authority to make the offer. Sooner or later, the death would be revealed, but there is no immediate obligation to my knowledge to start calling adverse parties and advising them.
Re: Attorney responsibilities if client dies pending suit?
No. If the offer was made with the approval of the personal representative it is probably valid. It is possible that trhere was no valid contract if the attorney did not have authority to make the offer. Sooner or later, the death would be revealed, but there is no immediate obligation to my knowledge to start calling adverse parties and advising them.
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