Advice

What is the name of your state? Florida

I have gone thru mediation on a small claims case, and the defendant has already breached the agreement. I contacted the defendant's attorney and left a message, the attorney finally calls back when I am not available and my 11 year old daughter get's a message saying that I'm not getting my settlement. A) My daughter is 11 and has no idea as to what this person is taking about; Is this normal legal practice among attorney's, to leave important or any message with a minor? B) What course of action is available to pursue resolution of my settlement agreement and possible punitive action on the attorney involved ? Any comments are appreciated.

What course of action is available to pursue resolution of my settlement agreement and possible punitive action on the attorney involved ?

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On the facts given, forget the attorney. Poor judgment in that context is not punishable.

As to your case, you're back to square one, unfortunately. Normally, a successful mediation (you thought you had one) takes the case out of the court system. After learning that there has been an agreement, the Court dismisses the case. In another, less common variation, the Court may retain jurisdiction (keep the case alive) until the agreement is fully performed. We don't know which was true for your case.

If the case was dismissed, you have to re-file, re-serve and then go on to trial. If the Court retained jurisdiction, you need to ask the Court to set a trial date. There is no mechanism to *enforce* a mediation agreement.

If you're not sure what was done, just contact the Court and ask.

Fraser Rowe said:

What is the name of your state? Florida

I have gone thru mediation on a small claims case, and the defendant has already breached the agreement. I contacted the defendant's attorney and left a message, the attorney finally calls back when I am not available and my 11 year old daughter get's a message saying that I'm not getting my settlement. A) My daughter is 11 and has no idea as to what this person is taking about; Is this normal legal practice among attorney's, to leave important or any message with a minor? B) What course of action is available to pursue resolution of my settlement agreement and possible punitive action on the attorney involved ? Any comments are appreciated.

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Guess what? You get to sue for breach of contract all over again