La Costa Beach Club Resort Condominium Ass'n v. Carioti

In this case, the trial court ordered a new trial based solely on (1) a purportedly illegal Mary Carter agreement entered into before the trial; 1 (2) a finding by the trial court that the defendants’ attorney “grossly impaired” a proper defense amounting to fundamental error; and (3) jury confusion caused by an erroneous jury instruction that led to a verdict that was inconsistent with Florida law.

As to the first issue, we find that the pretrial settlement agreement involving the plaintiff below and one of the defendants did not constitute a Mary Carter agreement and thus a new trial is not…