City of Deltona strikes back at would be lawsuits

The City of Deltona made a public announcement last month that for anyone filing a lawsuit against them, the city would seek to recover their attorneys fees from the person filing the lawsuit if the city wins. This has always seemed like the fair thing to me. If you sue me and you lose, then you should be required to pay my attorneys fees. Why should I be required to pay the fees when you were the one that generated the expense???

It may sound crazy, but in most states including Florida unless there is a specific statute or it says so in the contract, everybody pays their own attorney fees whether they win or lose. The "ambulance chasing" law firms that advertise on TV and radio hate this idea of loser pays for both sides' fees. Why? Because it discourages lawsuits from being filed. These law firms want to force people and entities with deep pockets to settle out of court and fork over thousands in legal fees.

I have a friend of mine a few years ago who got arrested and had his truck impounded on suspicion that he had committed a robbery on a convenience store. He spent about $2000 on lawyers to defend him and eventually it ended up being a case of mistaken identity with the charges getting dropped. Did he get reimbursed for his $2000 lawyer bill? Nope, not a dime. To me that is totally unfair.

The Orlando Sentinel has come out against Deltona's stance stating that it discourages lawsuits. Well, duh, that is exactly the idea. Why should the city not get reimbursed for their legal fees on a frivolous lawsuit???

Being a real estate investor, I have been involved in several lawsuits over the years - evictions, quiet title actions, vandals, I may even have to file foreclosure against a deadbeat very shortly. Luckily for me all my lease and mortgage documents allow me to seek attorneys fees from the losing party, but even so I probably will not end up collecting on them.

About 10 years ago, I came across a book called the Privacy Plan. It really opened my eyes to the liability that is out there. It is definitely a must read for any business owner or person with assets.

Be careful, it's a jungle out there.

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

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