Stephen J. Watts v. Nicole L. Goetz and Nicole L. Goetz, P.L.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 21, 2020
Docket2D19-1002
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING
MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
STEPHEN J. WATTS, )
)
Appellant, )
)
v. ) Case No. 2D19-1002
)
NICOLE L. GOETZ and NICOLE L. )
GOETZ, P.L., )
)
Appellees. )
)
Opinion filed October 21, 2020.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Collier
County; Elizabeth V. Krier, Judge.
Kristin A. Norse and Stuart C. Markman
of Kynes, Markman & Felman, P.A.,
Tampa, for Appellant.
Amy L. Christiansen and Michael J.
McGirney of Spector Gaden Rosen
Vinci LLP, St. Petersburg, for Appellees.
SMITH, Judge.
Stephen Watts appeals the final summary judgment entered in favor of his
former attorney, Nicole Goetz, and her law firm Nicole L. Goetz, P.L. (collectively
"Goetz"), in this legal malpractice action arising out of a mediated settlement agreement
(MSA) in his divorce. The trial court erred by finding, as a matter of law, Goetz could
not have committed malpractice in failing to include a supportive relationship clause in
the MSA because the parties were bound by the terms of their unchallenged prenuptial
agreement in the divorce proceeding and that the statute of limitations began to run on
Mr. Watts' legal malpractice claim when he signed the MSA. Because we reverse on
these dispositive issues and remand for further proceedings, we decline to address the
issues that remain.
I.
Mr. Watts and his former wife were married in Massachusetts on
September 8, 2000. Prior to their marriage, on September 6, 2000, they entered into a
prenuptial agreement, both parties being represented by counsel. Mr. Watts and his
former wife moved to Florida in 2002, and they filed for divorce in 2012 after twelve
years of marriage.
The alimony provision of the prenuptial agreement contained a
contingency that required the parties' marriage to last at least one year. Upon the
marriage lasting that one year, the former wife would be entitled to $100,000 in alimony
per year for a duration equal to the number of years of the marriage. The alimony
provision also allowed for cost of living adjustments (COLA). According to the
prenuptial agreement, the alimony obligation would terminate upon the earlier of any of
the following events: Mr. Watts' death, his former wife's death, the former wife's
remarriage, or the expiration of the alimony duration period. The alimony provision, like
the other provisions of the prenuptial agreement, was capable of being "modified or
revoked but only by a written instrument executed by the parties," as set forth in Article
II(C)(2) of the prenuptial agreement.
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In 2012, Mr. Watts and his former wife filed for divorce and Mr. Watts
retained attorney Goetz to represent him in the dissolution proceedings, which included
review of his prenuptial agreement. Because the prenuptial agreement contained a
Massachusetts choice of law provision, attorney Goetz consulted with a Massachusetts
lawyer, who confirmed that the agreement, as it stated, could only be modified if agreed
to in writing by the parties. Thereafter, on February 6, 2014, attorney Goetz
represented Mr. Watts at the mediation where the parties renegotiated the terms of the
prenuptial agreement, including the alimony provision, and entered into the MSA,
agreeing to Florida as the choice of law.
The MSA includes an alimony provision similar to the one in the prenuptial
agreement and provides that Mr. Watts will pay durational alimony in the amount of
$100,000 per year for a period not to exceed twelve years. According to the MSA, the
durational alimony will terminate earlier in the event of either the death of Mr. Watts or
his former wife or the former wife's remarriage. There were, however, two key
distinctions between the alimony provision in the MSA and the one in the prenuptial
agreement.
First, the alimony provision in the MSA, unlike the prenuptial agreement,
does not allow for the modification of alimony upon written agreement of the parties but
instead contains a waiver of the parties' rights to modify the alimony obligation as to
duration and amount, except in two specific circumstances, neither of which include the
former wife's entering a supportive relationship. The waiver provides:
Except as set forth herein, the parties specifically waive all
rights to modification of any kind whether as to amount or
duration of the spousal support (alimony) payments set forth
in this Agreement for any reasons whatsoever, except in the
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event of [Mr. Watts'] or [the former wife's] total or partial
disability, or [Mr. Watts'] bankruptcy.
Second, unlike the alimony provision in the prenuptial agreement, there is
no COLA provision in the MSA for the following reason: "[b]ased upon the parties'
agreement of non-modifiability and Paragraph 9.1 [of the MSA,] the COLA provision [in
the prenuptial agreement] is waived." Paragraph 9.1 of the MSA provides:
Novation on Terms of Prenuptial Agreement: The terms
and conditions of this agreement shall supersede and
replace the terms and conditions of the parties' Prenuptial
Agreement dated September 6, 2000.
The MSA was incorporated into the final judgment of dissolution, which
was rendered on April 15, 2014. Approximately one year later, sometime in the spring
of 2015, the former wife moved in with her boyfriend. In March 2016, Mr. Watts learned
that his former wife was expecting a child with her boyfriend and that the two had no
plans to marry. Later that same month, in March 2016, Mr. Watts sought the legal
advice of another family law attorney about his ability to modify or terminate his alimony
obligation based on the former wife's cohabitation with her boyfriend. This attorney told
Mr. Watts that while Florida law allows for alimony to be reduced or terminated when a
supportive relationship can be established, the terms of Mr. Watts' MSA prohibited such
relief. The Florida law regarding supportive relationships was in effect at the time the
MSA was executed. See § 61.14(1)(b)(1), Fla. Stat. (2014) ("The court may reduce or
terminate an award of alimony upon specific written findings by the court that since the
granting of a divorce and the award of alimony a supportive relationship has existed
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between the obligee and a person with whom the obligee resides.").1
After learning that the MSA precluded a reduction or termination of his
alimony obligation based on his former wife's supportive relationship, Mr. Watts made
an appointment to discuss the MSA with attorney Goetz. According to the summary
judgment evidence identified by Mr. Watts, which we must accept as true, attorney
Goetz admitted to not having discussed the inclusion of a supportive relationship clause
with Mr. Watts; she apologized, saying she was not sure why a supportive relationship
clause was left out of the MSA.2 Mr. Watts' summary judgment evidence further
revealed that both attorney Goetz and her paralegal testified in their depositions that it
was standard in Goetz's family law practice to include a supportive relationship clause in
MSAs and that Goetz's first draft of Mr. Watts' MSA included a supportive relationship
clause.
Mr. Watts commenced the instant legal malpractice action against Goetz
on April 24, 2017, alleging she breached her duty of care by not including a supportive
relationship clause in the MSA, which could have allowed Mr. Watts to reduce or
terminate his durational alimony obligation when his former wife moved in with her
1Mr. Watts and his former wife executed the prenuptial agreement in 2000
while they were living in Massachusetts, and in 2000, Massachusetts did not recognize
a supportive relationship as a basis for the termination or modification of alimony. See
Chin v. Merriot, 23 N.E.3d 929, 931 (Mass. 2015). It was not until March 1, 2012, that
the Alimony Reform Act of 2011, St. 2011, c. 124, was made effective in Massachusetts
and recognized for the first time that a former spouse's cohabitation could be a basis for
the termination of alimony. See G.L.C. 208. § 49 (d). Mr. Watts and his former wife
moved to Florida in 2002.
2Attorney Goetz testified in her deposition that when she first spoke to Mr.
Watts about the MSA not including a supportive relationship clause, she could not recall
why the MSA did not include the clause and needed to refer to her records to refresh
her memory.
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boyfriend and by making the MSA's alimony provision nonmodifiable, except in the
event of the parties' disability or Mr. Watts' bankruptcy, thereby further precluding any
ability to modify the alimony provision based upon a supportive relationship under
section 61.14.
Goetz sought a dismissal of the legal malpractice action and, when that
was denied, summary judgment. Both motions made the same two arguments. First,
Goetz argued, as a matter of law, she could not have committed legal malpractice for
failing to include a supportive relationship clause in the MSA because Mr. Watts was
bound by the nonmodifiable prenuptial agreement, which expressly provided that
alimony was only terminable on the event of Mr. Watts' death, the former wife's death,
or the former wife's remarriage. Second, Goetz argued Mr. Watts' complaint was barred
by the two-year statute of limitations for legal malpractice claims under section
95.11(4)(a), Florida Statutes (2014), because it was filed more than two years after he
signed the MSA that did not include a supportive relationship clause. In support of her
motion for summary judgment, Goetz attached only the prenuptial agreement and the
MSA. Mr. Watts filed a memorandum in opposition to Goetz's motion for summary
judgment, together with a number of deposition transcripts. Ms. Goetz did not present
any summary judgment evidence to rebut the depositions filed by Mr. Watts.
After hearing argument on the motion for summary judgment, the trial
court found:
Number one, . . . it's impossible, unless you are challenging
the validity of the prenup, to make changes to a prenuptial
agreement. So it is therefore, impossible that [attorney
Goetz] made this mistake because the alimony is
nonmodifiable. . . . Secondly, I agree that I think the statute
of limitations has run.
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The trial court explained its ruling on the statute of limitations saying: "[Mr. Watts] should
have known [of the mistake] immediately when he signed the agreement." Consistent
with these findings, the trial court entered its final judgment:
2. The Court finds that the Pre-Nuptial Agreement signed by
the Plaintiff and his ex-wife in 2000 was not challenged and
was, therefore, controlling in the case and the Plaintiff
cannot state a cause of action in this matter for malpractice.
3. The Court also finds that the Plaintiff did not timely file
this action for malpractice within the statutory period stated
in the statute of limitations for legal malpractice and the
Plaintiff's malpractice action is barred.
This appeal followed.
II.
We review the order granting final summary judgment de novo. Volusia
County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000). A
movant is entitled to summary judgment only where there are no genuine issues of
material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. "In
considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must draw every possible
inference in favor of the nonmoving party." Athans v. Soble, 553 So. 2d 1361, 1362
(Fla. 2d DCA 1989) (citing Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666, 668 (Fla. 1985)). "Where
the record reflects the possibility or slightest doubt that an issue exists, summary
judgment is improper." Id. at 1362-63 (citing Gomes v. Stevens, 548 So. 2d 1163, 1164
(Fla. 2d DCA 1989)). "Summary judgments should be cautiously granted in negligence
and malpractice suits." Davis v. Green, 625 So. 2d 130, 131 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); see
also Pitcher v. Zappitell, 160 So. 3d 145, 147 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) ("A party seeking
summary judgment in a negligence action has a more onerous burden than that borne
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in other types of cases." (quoting Deese v. McKinnonville Hunting Club, Inc., 874 So. 2d
1282, 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004))).
III.
The trial court found that, as a matter of law, attorney Goetz could not
have been negligent for failing to include a supportive relationship clause in the MSA
where modification of the prenuptial agreement was an "impossibility" because the
prenuptial agreement was not challenged in the divorce proceedings. Mr. Watts argues
on appeal that Goetz failed to show she caused no actionable harm for legal
malpractice, thereby precluding summary judgment, and we agree.
The prenuptial agreement was, as argued by Mr. Watts, capable of being
modified by the written agreement of the parties or, as Goetz puts it, the prenuptial
agreement was nonmodifiable except by written agreement of the parties.3 Stated
either way, the parties were free to renegotiate the terms of the prenuptial agreement,
including the alimony provision, so long as they ultimately took pen to paper and
executed a written agreement modifying the same. And because actions sometimes
speak louder than words, we know that the parties did in fact renegotiate the terms of
the alimony provision in the prenuptial agreement as indicated by the different terms
included in the MSA, discussed above.
Under Florida law4 "[v]alid prenuptial agreements regarding post-
3Because we find the prenuptial agreement was modifiable subject to the
written agreement of the parties, we find no merit in Goetz's argument that it could not
be modified to include a supportive relationship clause where none existed before.
4Florida law governed once the parties undertook to modify the terms of
the prenuptial agreement, as provided by the terms of the MSA, which expressly call for
Florida Law to control the construction, interpretation, and effect of the MSA.
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dissolution [sic] support are contracts." Lashkajani v. Lashkajani, 911 So. 2d 1154,
1158 (Fla. 2005). Prenuptial agreements and marital settlement agreements are to be
construed in the same manner as any other contract. Suess v. Suess, 289 So. 3d 525,
529 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019); Heiny v. Heiny, 113 So. 3d 897, 900 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). In
construing a contract, a trial court's role is not to rewrite the terms of the contract, but
rather to give effect to all of its terms as agreed to by the parties. Nishman v. Stein, 292
So. 3d 1277, 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020) ("Unless there is evidence of the parties' intent
to the contrary, the unambiguous language of the agreement should be interpreted
according to its plain meaning.").
Because the parties mediated the MSA, they were not bound by the
traditional relief a court may have awarded but were free to craft their own resolution on
their terms. Herbst v. Herbst, 153 So. 3d 290, 292 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (noting the well-
settled rule that parties to a dissolution of marriage proceeding "may enter into
settlement agreements imposing obligations the trial court could not otherwise impose
under the applicable statutes" (citing Taylor v. Lutz, 134 So. 3d 1146, 1148 (Fla. 1st
DCA 2014))). "[And it is the] well-established policy in Florida that settlement
agreements are highly favored in the law." Chovan v. Chovan, 90 So. 3d 898, 900-01
(Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (alteration in original) (quoting Griffith v. Griffith, 860 So. 2d 1069,
1073 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)). This dynamic, while not raised by the parties, should not be
overlooked.
We now direct our attention to the MSA. Here, the clear intention of Mr.
Watts and his former wife to modify the prenuptial agreement is illustrated by the
unambiguous language of the MSA, which expressly states it is a novation and that
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"[t]he terms and conditions of [the MSA] shall supersede and replace the terms and
conditions of the [prenuptial agreement]." See, e.g., Jakobi v. Kings Creek Vill.
Townhouse Ass'n, 665 So. 2d 325, 327 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) ("A novation is a mutual
agreement between the parties for the discharge of a valid existing obligation by the
substitution of a new valid obligation." (citing Ades v. Bank of Montreal, 542 So. 2d 1013
(Fla. 3d DCA 1989))). The MSA was submitted for the trial court's approval in the
dissolution proceeding and was approved and incorporated into the final judgment of
dissolution. Therefore, the trial court in the malpractice action below was required to
give effect to the terms of the MSA, including the provision providing that it was a
novation discharging any prior obligations under the prenuptial agreement. See
Nishman, 292 So. 3d at 1280. By focusing on the parties' supposed inability to modify
the prenuptial agreement because it was not challenged in the dissolution proceeding,
the trial court disregarded the clear intent of the parties as expressed in the MSA.
Goetz also argues an alternative form of impossibility—that in order to
prevail on his legal malpractice claim, Mr. Watts must prove that his former wife would
have agreed to the inclusion of a supportive relationship clause. To the extent Goetz
asserts that Mr. Watts was required to prove the former wife would have agreed to a
supportive relationship clause or that any evidence he offered at the summary judgment
hearing on the issue was speculative, she confuses the summary judgment standard
and improperly attempts to shift the summary judgment burden to Mr. Watts, the
nonmoving party. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c). Goetz, as the moving party, bears the
heavy burden on summary judgment to conclusively prove the nonexistence of any
genuine issue of material fact. Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40, 43-44 (Fla. 1966). Until
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Goetz successfully meets this burden, Mr. Watts, as the nonmoving party, has no
burden to come forward with any evidence. See id. Based upon the record before us,
Goetz was faced with an insurmountable task on summary judgment to show that, as a
matter of law, she could not have committed malpractice in failing to include a
supportive relationship clause based upon the terms of the prenuptial agreement. The
undisputed facts here show Goetz concedes that the prenuptial agreement could be
modified by the written agreement of the parties and that Mr. Watts and his former wife
did in fact modify the prenuptial agreement, negotiate specific instances which would
permit modification of the alimony in the future, and enter into the MSA, which expressly
provided that it was a novation supplanting the prenuptial agreement.
Accordingly, summary judgment on the ground of "impossibility" was error.
IV.
Mr. Watts next argues the trial court erred in granting summary judgment
based upon a finding that the two-year statute of limitation period commenced on the
date of the MSA's execution because he did not suffer redressable injury on that date
and there remain genuine issues of material fact as to when the statute of limitations
began to run. We agree.
Generally, a statute of limitations begins to run when a cause of action
accrues. See § 95.031, Fla. Stat. (2018). "A cause of action accrues when the last
element constituting the cause of action occurs." § 95.031(1). There are three
elements giving rise to a cause of action for legal malpractice: (1) the attorney's
employment; (2) the attorney's neglect of a reasonable duty; and (3) the attorney's
negligence was the proximate cause of loss to the client. See Rocco v. Glenn,
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Rasmussen, Fogarty & Hooker, P.A., 32 So. 3d 111, 116 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). The third
element of causation requires a plaintiff to "introduce evidence which affords a
reasonable basis for the conclusion that it is more likely than not that the conduct of the
defendant was a substantial factor in bringing about the result." Gooding v. Univ. Hosp.
Bldg., Inc., 445 So. 2d 1015, 1018 (Fla. 1984) (quoting William L. Prosser, The Law of
Torts § 41 (4th ed. 1971)); see also Tarleton v. Arnstein & Lehr, 719 So. 2d 325, 330
(Fla. 4th DCA 1998). Because legal malpractice actions are based upon acts of
negligence, they are subject to a two-year statute of limitations, which "run[s] from the
time the cause of action is discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise
of due diligence." § 95.11(4)(a). "[T]he event which triggers the running of the statute
of limitations is notice to or knowledge by the injured party that a cause of action has
accrued in his favor, and not the date on which the negligent act which caused the
damages was actually committed." Downing v. Vaine, 228 So. 2d 622, 625 (Fla. 1st
DCA 1969) ("[I]t [is] impossible to rationalize how an injured client can be required to
institute an action within a limited time after his cause of action accrues if he has no
means of knowing by the exercise of reasonable diligence that the cause of action
exists."); see also Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v. Lane, 565 So. 2d 1323, 1325 (Fla.
1990) ("Generally, a cause of action for negligence does not accrue until the existence
of a redressable harm or injury has been established and the injured party knows or
should know of either the injury or the negligent act.").
Relying only on the prenuptial agreement and the MSA, and nothing more,
Goetz argues that any injury to Mr. Watts occurred on February 6, 2014—the day he
signed the MSA that did not include a supportive relationship clause. According to
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Goetz, Mr. Watts should have known of the injury or negligent act on that day because
under the basic principles of contract law, a party is presumed to know and understand
what they signed. See Rocky Creek Ret. Props., Inc. v. Estate of Fox ex rel. Bank of
Am., N.A., 19 So. 3d 1105, 1108 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) ("Florida law has long held that a
party to a contract is 'conclusively presumed to know and understand the contents,
terms, and conditions of the contract' " (quoting Stonebraker v. Reliance Life Ins. Co. of
Pittsburgh, 123 Fla. 244, 247 (1936))); Mfrs' Leasing, Ltd. v. Fla. Dev. & Attractions,
Inc., 330 So. 2d 172, 172 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976) ("A party has a duty to learn and know
the contents of a proposed contract before he signs and delivers it, and in the absence
of exceptions not pertinent here is presumed to know and understand its contents,
terms, and conditions."). The trial court was so swayed and found the documents
dispositive on the statute of limitations issue finding "[Mr. Watts] should have known
immediately when he signed the agreement." We are not persuaded that these cases
have application in the context of a legal malpractice action where a client retains an
attorney for the purpose of protecting their legal rights in the negotiation of contractual
terms, and we can find no case applying this principle to preclude a legal malpractice
claim.
A lawyer owes to the client a duty to exercise the degree of reasonable
knowledge and skill that lawyers of ordinary ability and skill possess and exercise.
Home Furniture Depot, Inc. v. Entevor AB, 753 So. 2d 653, 655 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000).
"[A]n attorney may be held liable for damages incurred by a client based on the
attorney's failure to act with a reasonable degree of care, skill, and dispatch." Crosby v.
Jones, 705 So. 2d 1356, 1358 (Fla. 1998). Florida law recognizes that a legal
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malpractice action may lie where the attorney commits negligence in advising a client to
enter into a settlement agreement or errs in the drafting of a settlement agreement.
See, e.g., MarElia v. Yanchuck, Berman Wadley & Zervos, P.A., 966 So. 2d 30 (Fla. 2d
DCA 2007) (reversing final summary judgment in favor of attorneys holding genuine
issues of fact remained related to attorneys' representation of client where client alleged
attorneys failed to properly prepare settlement documents to reflect the settlement
distribution they described to client); see also Miller v. Finizio & Finizio, P.A., 226 So. 3d
979, 983 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) ("An attorney is not 'insultated from liability for failing to
exercise ordinary skill and care in resolving settlement issues.' " (quoting Sauer v.
Flanagan & Maniotis, P.A., 748 So. 2d 1079, 1082 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000))); Hunzinger
Const. Corp. v. Quarles & Brady Gen. P'ship, 735 So. 2d 589 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
(reversing directed verdict on client's legal malpractice claim alleging a drafting error in
the settlement agreement); Tarleton, 719 So. 2d at 331 (holding client cannot be found
comparatively negligent for relying on attorney's advice to sign a marital settlement
agreement that contained disadvantageous terms). An attorney's duty is not discharged
or extinguished simply because the client voluntarily accepts and enters into a marital
settlement agreement. Miller, 226 So. 3d at 982-83. ("Under Florida law, a client's mere
acceptance of a settlement in a prior case does not automatically foreclose the client
from bringing a malpractice suit against the attorney who handled the case.").
Once a client retains an attorney, "[a] client cannot be found to be
comparatively negligent for relying on an attorney's erroneous legal advice or failing to
correct errors of the attorney which involve the exercise of professional expertise."
Tarleton, 719 So. 2d at 331. In Tarleton, the former wife brought a legal malpractice
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claim against the law firm who represented her in the settlement of her divorce where
the marital settlement agreement, unbeknownst to the former wife, released a separate
claim against the former husband, which she was advised survived. At trial the law firm
was allowed to proceed on its theory of comparative negligence making the case that
the former wife was a sophisticated business person and could have easily read the
settlement agreement, which plainly gave up her right to pursue any claim against the
former husband. Id. In striking down the comparative negligence portion of the jury's
verdict, the appellate court reasoned that despite the wife being somewhat
sophisticated in business, the law did "not impose upon her the burden to second guess
her attorney's advice or to hire a second attorney to see if such advice was proper." Id.
at 331.
Similarly here, Goetz seeks to excuse any legal malpractice claim by
assigning blame to Mr. Watts for signing the MSA, arguing that the law presumes he
understood what he signed and thus should have known of any malpractice when he
signed the MSA, which clearly did not contain a supportive relationship clause. The
fallacy in this argument is that Mr. Watts hired Goetz for that very purpose to properly
advise him in connection with the renegotiation of his prenuptial agreement and the
ultimate terms of the MSA. See Crosby, 705 So. 2d at 1359. In the context of his legal
malpractice claim, Mr. Watts cannot be charged with knowing that after he signed his
prenuptial agreement in 2000, Florida law, or for that matter Massachusetts law,
recognized a party's ability to modify or terminate alimony based upon the alimony
obligee entering into a supportive relationship, nor is he presumed to know that he could
have included such a provision in the MSA and not agreed to waive the ability to modify
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his alimony obligation. See Miller, 226 So. 3d at 983. Accordingly, Mr. Watts cannot be
faulted for relying upon the advice of his attorney at the time of entering into the MSA.
A legal malpractice claim is "hypothetical and damages are speculative"
until such time that a client sustains a "redressable harm." Rocco, 32 So. 3d at 116
(quoting Hold v. Manzini, 736 So. 2d 138, 141-42 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)). In Rocco, this
court analyzed the issue of proximate cause in a legal malpractice case to determine
when and where the action accrued for purposes of determining proper venue. Id. The
plaintiff, Rocco, brought suit for legal malpractice against the law firm for disclosing
privileged, unredacted financial information to Rocco's stepsons as a part of her late
husband's probate proceedings. Upon receiving the improper disclosure, the stepsons
withdrew their consents in the probate proceeding and used the privileged information in
their pleadings. Id. Based upon these facts, we held that "Rocco did not suffer
redressable harm, thereby causing her legal malpractice claim to accrue, until the sons
used the improperly disclosed information as the basis for the pleadings," because until
then, a malpractice claim was "hypothetical and any damages were speculative." Id. at
116-17; see also Clemente v. Freshman, 760 So. 2d 1059, 1061 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)
("Mere knowledge of potential harm from malpractice is insufficient to trigger the two[-
]year statute of limitations period." (citing Taracido v. Perez–Abreu, Zamora & De La Fe,
P.A., 705 So. 2d 41, 41-42 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997))). We conclude the same here. The
redressable harm in this case did not occur until the former wife began a supportive
relationship and Mr. Watts sustained a loss—that loss being the continued obligation to
pay durational alimony while the former wife was maintaining a supportive relationship.
Based upon the record before us, the trial court erred in holding that the
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date of the MSA's execution was the operative date that triggered the two-year statute
of limitation. Because we find that genuine issues of material fact remain as to when
Mr. Watts' cause of action accrued, summary judgment was not proper.
V.
Because we determine that modification of the prenuptial agreement was
not an impossibility, the statute of limitations did not commence on the day of the MSA's
execution, and genuine issues of material fact remain, we reverse the final summary
judgment. We decline to address the remaining issues on appeal. Our decision here is
not intended to comment on the merits of Mr. Watts' malpractice claim.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
KHOUZAM, C.J., and SLEET, J., Concur.
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