DAYTONA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, а/k/a Daytona Corporation, a Florida Corporation; K.D. Sauder, a/k/a Kenneth D. Sauder, and Anita L. Sauder, His Wife; Gregg, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Cleardale, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Appellants,
v.
Donald O. McFARLAND; Phillips, McFarland, Gould, Wilhelm & Wagstaff, P.A., a Florida Professional Corporation, Formerly Phillips, McFarland, Gould & Kornes, P.A., a Florida Corporation; Gulf Insurance Cо.; United States First Insurance Co.; and Select Insurance Co., Appellees.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
*465 Joel D. Eaton of Podhurst, Orseck, Parks, Josefsberg, Eaton, Meadow & Olin, P.A., Miami, and Wagner, Cunningham, Vaughan, & McLaughlin, P.A., Tampa, for appellants.
A. Broaddus Livingston, John W. Boult and Sylvia H. Walbоlt of Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, Smith & Cutler, P.A., Tampa, for appellees.
LEHAN, Judge.
Plaintiffs appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of defendants in this complex legal malpractice suit. Defendants are an individual attorney, his law firm, and his insurers. The suit involves the attorney's allegedly negligent work for plaintiffs, developers of a three building condominium complex, regarding an interest to be retаined by the developers in connection with recreation facilities. (We will hereafter use the singular, "developer.") Although it has been held that the attorney in drafting the сondominium documents did not reserve for the developer title to the recreation facilities, Daytona Development Corp. v. Bergquist,
The basis for the summary judgment was the trial court's conclusion that the attorney accomplished what he was employed to accomplish, i.e., thе creation of the interest in a use agreement found in Sauder to exist which entitled the developer to payments from condominium unit owners for their use of the recreatiоn facilities. The court on that basis in effect concluded that there had been no actionable failure to measure up to the requisite standard of care.
The developer argues that although in Sauder this сourt found that the developer had a valid interest in a use agreement for the recreation facilities, this court in that case also approved of certain deductions made and to be made from payments from condominium unit owners under that agreement. Accordingly, the developer argues that his interest was only theorеtically a valid interest. The argument is that the attorney's work provided the developer with a less than fully enforceable interest. We agree that there is a fact issuе in this regard precluding the summary judgment. See Davis v. Hathaway,
The developer also argues that, as was held in Bergquist, the attorney failed to reserve title to the recreation facilities for the developer and that testimony creates a fact issue as to whether the attorney's conduct in that respect was below the requisite standard of care. The argument is to the effect that even to the extent the attorney's conduct did, pursuant to Sauder, provide the developer with an enforceable interest in the use agreement, the attorney should bе liable for resulting losses allegedly suffered by the developer from that failure to reserve title. This might involve the question of whether an attorney's conduct which accоmplishes the end which the attorney was employed to accomplish (here an enforceable interest in the use agreement) nonetheless may constitute аctionable malpractice if the means used by the attorney (which here did not provide the developer with title to the recreation facilities) fell below the requisite standard of care and proximately caused loss to the client. In this regard compare Dillard Smith Construction Co. v. Greene,
The attorney raises an issue as to whether the developer's prior allegations and testimony should equitably estop the developer from now claiming damages due to the attorney's failure to reserve title to the recreation facilities for the developer. The trial court's summary judgment did not address this issue. The arguments and counterarguments disаgree as to just what the developer's prior position was in this regard. Under the particular circumstances of this case and because a resolution of this issue rеquires determinations of factual *467 questions, we do not decide the issue here. See Brewer v. Vandervalk,
We agree with the attorney that the facts that his work was challenged, that litigation ensued, and that the developer lost in Bergquist (and, as we have said, could be considered to have not entirely won in Sauder) do not by themselves establish a violation by the attorney of the requisite standard of care and that an attоrney who drafts documents is not ipso facto a guarantor that the documents will be litigation free or will accomplish everything the client might want. See Dillard,
We have addressed the basic issue presented to us on this appeal аnd decided by the trial court whether there was a genuine issue of fact as to whether the attorney's conduct fulfilled the requisite standard of care. Although the arguments alsо refer to various damage aspects, suffice it to say that, for the reasons given above, we also do not conclude that there is no issue in that regard so as to justify the summary judgment.
Reversed and remanded for proceedings consistent herewith.
RYDER, A.C.J., and SANDERLIN, J., concur.
