WHAT SHOULD A FINAL JUDGMENT IN AN UNINSURED MOTORIST CASE CONTAIN?

The wording of the final judgment in an uninsured motorist case is always a highly disputed issue, especially when an excess jury verdict has been entered.  Plaintiffs almost always seek language reserving their “right” to amend the complaint to add a claim for bad faith and to recover the full amount of the jury’s verdict.  In practice, we object to this requested language.  However, Florida courts continue to enter final judgments with this language.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal has clarified the proper wording of the final judgment and found it was error to include a reservation of jurisdiction to amend the complaint to add a claim for bad faith.

Read More: Appellate-Update-6.4.13