What happened: An insurer sued for $81,445.84, accepted a $1 offer of judgment, and a Florida appeals court ruled the other side can still pursue its own attorney's fees
Who's involved: National Insurance USA Group LLC and Mapp Digital US, LLC
What's at stake: Whether the defendant can recover attorney's fees under Florida's reciprocal fee statute after the plaintiff accepted a $1 settlement
Why it matters: Offer of judgment language that wraps up only one side's fees can leave the door wide open for a reciprocal claim
Where it stands: Reversed and remanded - the trial court must determine whether the defendant is the prevailing party
An insurer chased $81,445.84 in a contract dispute. It walked away with a dollar.
National Insurance USA Group LLC sued Mapp Digital US, LLC for breach of a written contract in Broward County, seeking damages plus interest, costs, and fees. Early rounds went the insurer's way - Mapp Digital's motion to dismiss was denied, and its bid to compel arbitration rejected. Then Mapp Digital changed tactics.
It extended a $1 offer of judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 and section 768.79 of the Florida Statutes. The offer stated that attorney's fees were "a part of the plaintiff's legal claims against the defendant" and that the offer included those fees. National Insurance accepted.
The final judgment - drafted by Mapp Digital, approved by National Insurance - resolved "all damages that would be recoverable in this action" for $1, "inclusive of Plaintiff's court costs and attorney's fees."
One dollar. Case closed. Or so it seemed.
Mapp Digital then moved for its own attorney's fees under section 57.105(7), Florida's reciprocal fee statute, which lets either side recover fees when a contract has a one-sided fee clause. The trial court granted it. But on rehearing - without holding a hearing - the court reversed itself, finding the offer showed a "clear intention by the parties to resolve this matter in favor of Plaintiff as the prevailing party."
Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal disagreed. In its September 30, 2026 decision, the court held the plain language of the offer and the final judgment resolved only the plaintiff's fees. The defendant's right to chase its own fees under the reciprocal statute was a separate question entirely.
The case goes back to the trial court, which must now decide whether Mapp Digital was the prevailing party and entitled to fees.
The decision is not yet final - the rehearing window remains open. But an insurer that had the upper hand, accepted $1 to settle its $81,445.84 claim, and signed off on judgment language covering only its own fee claims may now owe the other side's legal costs on top of walking away with nothing.
Offer of judgment language that resolves one side's fees does not automatically shut the door on a reciprocal claim - and Florida's statute is the reason why.
The decision was issued by Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal. The trial court's determination on prevailing party status remains pending, and no motion for rehearing has been disposed of as of this report.
