Cornelius v. Haywood, 50 Fla. L. Weekly D2250 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 15, 2025):

In an action seeking both monetary damages and equitable relief, the plaintiff served an offer of judgment addressing only the monetary claim. Following trial, the jury found against the plaintiff on her defamation and negligent reporting claims and further found on the counterclaim that she had not unduly influenced the decedent who transferred assets prior to his death.

The trial court denied the motion for attorneys’ fees and costs because the action contained equitable claims. The plaintiff asked the court to hold that Section 768.79 applies in cases involving both equitable and monetary claims, so long as the proposal is directed solely to the monetary damages claim.

Applying the supremacy of the text principle, the court interpreted section 768.79 according to its plain language. That principle recognizes that the governing text’s words are paramount and mean what they convey in context.

The statute clearly states that it applies to a civil action for damages without any mention of equitable relief. Thus, it does not apply to claims for equitable relief, and the plaintiff could not avail herself of Section 768.79, because the defendant’s counterclaim asserting both an equitable and monetary claim was not encompassed within the plain language of the statute.

Therefore, even though the proposal did not attempt to settle the equitable claim, the reach of Section 768.79 did not extend to a pending case where the parties sought both monetary and equitable damages, and courts are not at liberty to add words to a statute when the legislature has not expressly included them.