Kansas Gooden and Kevin Franz successfully defended an appeal by a plaintiff in an auto-accident case.  The appeal concerned enforcement of a pre-suit settlement agreement between the defendant’s insurer and the plaintiff.  Defendant’s insurer offered money to settle Plaintiff’s bodily injury claim.  The check was issued “for the full and final settlement of [Plaintiff’s] injury claim only.”  Plaintiff signed and deposited the check.  He then used the proceeds to pay part of his hospital bill and to pay rent.

After spending the funds,   Plaintiff hired an attorney to try to get out of the settlement agreement.  Plaintiff argued on appeal that the parties did not agree on the terms of a settlement, and that any settlement reached was unenforceable based on unilateral mistake and fraud.    Defendant argued that the trial court correctly enforced the settlement agreement, and that the appeal was a case of buyer’s remorse.  Defendant specifically argued the trial court’s judgment in favor of Defendant enforcing the settlement should be affirmed because (1) Plaintiff waived his defenses to the contract, (2) Plaintiff could not overcome his burden of correctness due to an inadequate record on appeal, (3) the trial court correctly found an enforceable settlement was reached.

As to the second issue, Defendant argued that the judgment must be affirmed because Plaintiff failed to supply the appellate court with the transcript from the hearing at which the trial court found the settlement enforceable.  Under Florida law, as stated by the Florida Supreme Court in Applegate v. Barnett Bank of Tallahassee, 377 So. 2d 1140 (Fla. 1979), if the record on appeal is not adequate to demonstrate reversible error, the trial court’s decision must be affirmed unless error appears on the face of the judgment.  The appellate court affirmed the settlement agreement and judgment in favor of Defendant.  It cited to Applegate and another decision, which provided “In the absence of a transcript of the lower court proceedings, and finding no legal error apparent on the face of the order enforcing the settlement, we cannot conclude the trial court erred in rendering the order under review and therefore affirm.”

About Kansas R. Gooden

Kansas R. Gooden, a Board Certified Appellate Specialist and AV Rated attorney, serves as the firm’s General Counsel and Appellate Practice Group Leader.  Ms. Gooden currently works remotely for the firm in Miami. Through her remote work, she efficiently and cost-effectively serves her client’s needs.

Ms. Gooden has extensive experience handling all types of civil appellate proceedings in the Florida Supreme Court, all Florida District Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.  She is often retained in cases at or headed to the Florida Supreme Court or is retained to develop statewide litigation strategy to effectuate change in the common law.  She is one of the only attorneys—and likely the only woman—who has argued back-to-back cases on the same day before the Florida Supreme Court.

Many of Ms. Gooden cases are those of first impression, and those involving insurance coverage and bad faith issues.  Clients trust Ms. Gooden to handle their high-profile appellate litigation.

In addition to handling appeals, she also provides litigation and trial support to attorneys throughout the state. She is often called upon to attend trials and hearing to assist in preserving the error for later appeal.

Ms. Gooden is highly involved in the state and local bar associations and has served in many leadership roles.   Ms. Gooden served as the President of Florida Defense Lawyers Association, the statewide civil defense bar, in 2021-2022.  She still chairs the organization’s Amicus Committee and has since 2017.  On behalf of the organization, she authors and co-authors amicus briefs in important cases impacting tort, litigation, and insurance issues.

Ms. Gooden is the Chair of the Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section.  She has been active in the Appellate Practice Section for over a decade. She has served on the Executive Council and previously chaired the CLE Committee for several years.

Ms. Gooden also currently serves on the Florida Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization and Education. This committee oversees the certification committees and CLE accreditation for the bar.  She previously served on and chaired the Florida Bar’s Appellate Board Certification Committee, which writes and grades the appellate board certification test. The examination tests an applicant’s knowledge of state and federal appeals in the areas of civil, criminal, administrative, worker’s compensation, probate, and family law. The committee also examines the fitness of the candidates for board certification and those applying for recertification.

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About Kevin D. Franz

Kevin D. Franz is a partner with the firm’s Appellate Practice division. Mr. Franz is Board Certified in Appellate Practice by The Florida Bar. He has received the Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating, and has more than 15 years of experience handling all types of civil appellate proceedings. Mr. Franz has handled appeals and petitions in all five district courts of appeal for the State of Florida, the Supreme Court of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has presented oral argument before all five district courts of appeal and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Mr. Franz received his B.S. from the University of Maryland at College Park in 2001, and his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 2005. He then clerked for the Honorable E. Allen Shepherd in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland before beginning his career in insurance defense with an emphasis on litigation support and appellate practice.

Mr. Franz is admitted to practice before the Florida Supreme Court, the five Florida District Courts of Appeal, the three United States District Courts in Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

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