Filed: Sep. 27, 2016
Latest Update: Sep. 27, 2016
Summary: ORDER APPROVING PRO AMI SETTLEMENT W. HAROLD ALBRITTON , Senior District Judge . This case, having come before this Court and the Parties having appeared in person and/or by and through counsel, and the Court having conducted an evidentiary hearing, and considered the pleadings, stipulations and representations of the Guardian Ad Litem, the Parties, and their counsel, the Court now finds as follows: 1. Plaintiffs bring this action to recover damages for personal injury arising out of a mot
Summary: ORDER APPROVING PRO AMI SETTLEMENT W. HAROLD ALBRITTON , Senior District Judge . This case, having come before this Court and the Parties having appeared in person and/or by and through counsel, and the Court having conducted an evidentiary hearing, and considered the pleadings, stipulations and representations of the Guardian Ad Litem, the Parties, and their counsel, the Court now finds as follows: 1. Plaintiffs bring this action to recover damages for personal injury arising out of a moto..
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ORDER APPROVING PRO AMI SETTLEMENT
W. HAROLD ALBRITTON, Senior District Judge.
This case, having come before this Court and the Parties having appeared in person and/or by and through counsel, and the Court having conducted an evidentiary hearing, and considered the pleadings, stipulations and representations of the Guardian Ad Litem, the Parties, and their counsel, the Court now finds as follows:
1. Plaintiffs bring this action to recover damages for personal injury arising out of a motor vehicle accident that occurred on or about October 30, 2013.
2. Plaintiff Kayla Watson, the Mother, Next Best Friend and Guardian of Minor Plaintiffs P.M. and M.W., and the Guardian Ad Litem for Minor Plaintiffs have reported the doctors who examined Minor Plaintiffs following the accident found Minor Plaintiffs did not suffer any acute injury as a result of the subject accident. To date, Minor Plaintiffs have incurred the following medical expenses allegedly due to the subject accident. The proposed settlement takes into account any expenses incurred for past, present and future medical expenses.
a. Minor Plaintiff P.M.'s medical bills total $745.00; and
b. Minor Plaintiff M.W.'s medical bills total $506.09.
3. Plaintiff Kayla Watson, as Mother, Next Best Friend and Guardian of Minor Plaintiffs P.M. and M.W., has stipulated the proposed settlement is in the best interest of her minor children and, upon examination in open court, this Court determined Plaintiff Kayla Watson joins the stipulation of pro ami settlement and moves for approval of the settlement. The Guardian Ad Litem for the Minor Plaintiffs has filed a report recommending that the settlement be approved, and has testified accordingly. The Court finds the Pro Ami Settlement is in the best interests of the Minor Plaintiffs P.M. and M.W.
4. It is, therefore, ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED by the Court as follows:
a. That the proposed Pro Ami Settlement be, and the same is hereby, approved, and the Minor Plaintiffs shall have and recover of Defendants the total sum of:
i. Twenty-Five Hundred Dollars and No Cents ($2,500.00) for Minor Plaintiff P.M.; and
ii. Twenty-Five Hundred Dollars and No Cents ($2,500.00) for Minor Plaintiff M.W.
b. That the settlement proceeds for Minor Plaintiff P.M. shall be paid by Defendants directly to counsel for said minor plaintiff, and that said settlement proceeds will be distributed by said minor plaintiff's attorney as follows:
i. A total sum of $989.29 shall be paid to Willis, Floyd & Associates, as attorneys for Minor Plaintiff P.M., which consists of $625.00 in attorney's fees and $364.29 in reasonable expenses incurred;
ii. A total sum of $282.00 shall be paid to Baptist Medical Center East in satisfaction of any outstanding bill for charges and/or liens incurred in the treatment of Minor Plaintiff P.M.;
iii. A total sum of $463.00 shall be paid to HRRG/Team Health E.R. Physician in satisfaction of any outstanding bill for charges and/or liens incurred in the treatment of Minor Plaintiff P.M.; and
iv. A total remaining sum of $765.71 shall be paid to Plaintiff Kayla Watson, as Mother, Next Best Friend and Guardian of Minor Plaintiff P.M., pursuant to the Facility of Payments to Minors Act, Alabama Code § 26-2A-6, to be used for the health, support, education, and maintenance of said minor plaintiff.
c. That the settlement proceeds for Minor Plaintiff M.W. shall be paid by Defendants directly to counsel for said minor plaintiff, and that said settlement proceeds will be distributed by said minor plaintiff's attorney as follows:
i. A total sum of $973.04 shall be paid to Willis, Floyd & Associates, as attorneys for Minor Plaintiff M.W., which consists of $625.00 in attorney's fees and $348.04 in reasonable expenses incurred;
ii. A total sum of $43.09 shall be paid to Medicaid in satisfaction of any outstanding bill for charges and/or liens incurred in the treatment of Minor Plaintiff M.W.;
iii. A total sum of $463.00 shall be paid to HRRG/Team Health E.R. Physician in satisfaction of any outstanding bill for charges and/or liens incurred in the treatment of Minor Plaintiff M.W.; and
iv. A total remaining sum of $1,020.87 shall be paid to Plaintiff Kayla Watson, as Mother, Next Best Friend and Guardian of Minor Plaintiff M.W., pursuant to the Facility of Payments to Minors Act, Alabama Code § 26-2A-6, to be used for the health, support, education, and maintenance of said minor plaintiff.
d. That counsel for Minor Plaintiffs shall resolve any and all liens from the settlement proceeds, and that Defendants are not responsible for any outstanding liens involving any plaintiff in this action;
e. That the Guardian Ad Litem fee in the sum of $750.00 is awarded to J C Love for professional services as Guardian Ad Litem in this cause, with said fee to be paid by Defendants directly to J C Love within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order;
f. That upon payment of the settlement amount, Defendants shall have discharged their obligations under the settlement, and shall be discharged and released from any further liability to Minor Plaintiffs P.M. and M.W. arising out of the motor vehicle accident made the basis of this lawsuit, and all claims which were, or possibly could have been, asserted in this action by said minor plaintiffs and against Defendants are hereby merged in this judgment and forever barred;
g. That any and all claims asserted by Minor Plaintiffs P.M. and M.W. against Defendants are hereby dismissed with prejudice; and
h. That all court costs and filing fees are taxed as paid.
CIVIL APPEALS JURISDICTION CHECKLIST
1. Appealable Orders: Courts of Appeals have jurisdiction conferred and strictly limited by statute:
(a) Appeals from final orders pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291: Only final orders and judgments of district courts, or final orders of bankruptcy courts which have been appealed to and fully resolved by a district court under 28 U.S.C.§ 158, generally are appealable. A final decision is one that "ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment." Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Mestre, 701 F.2d 1365, 1368 (11th Cir. 1983). A magistrate judge's report and recommendation is not final and appealable until judgment thereon is entered by a district court judge. 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
(b) In cases involving multiple parties or multiple claims, a judgment as to fewer than all parties or all claims is not a final, appealable decision unless the district court has certified the judgment for immediate review under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). Williams v. Bishop, 732 F.2d 885, 885-86 (11th Cir. 1984). A judg ment which resolves all issues except matters, such as attorneys' fees and costs, that are collateral to the merits, is immediately appealable. Budinich v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 486 U.S.196, 201, 108 S.Ct. 1717, 1721-22, 100 L.Ed.2d 178 (1988); LaChance v. Duffy's Draft House, Inc., 146 F.3d 832, 837 (11th Cir. 1998).
(c) Appeals pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a): Appeals are permitted from orders "granting, continuing, modifying, refusing or dissolving injunctions or refusing to dissolve or modify injunctions . . ." and from "[i]nterlocutory decrees . . . determining the rights and liabilities of parties to admiralty cases in which appeals from final decrees are allowed." Interlocutory appeals from orders denying temporary restraining orders are not permitted.
(d) Appeals pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) and Fed.R.App.P. 5: The certification specified in 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) must be obtained before a petition for permission to appeal is filed in the Court of Appeals. The district court's denial of a motion for certification is not itself appealable.
(e) Appeals pursuant to judicially created exceptions to the finality rule: Limited exceptions are discussed in cases including, but not limited to: Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 546, 69S.Ct. 1221, 1225-26, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949); Atlantic Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Blythe Eastman Paine Webber, Inc., 890 F.2d 371, 376 (11th Cir. 1989); Gillespie v. United States Steel Corp., 379 U.S. 148, 157, 85 S.Ct. 308, 312, 13 L.Ed.2d 199 (1964).
2. Time for Filing: The timely filing of a notice of appeal is mandatory and jurisdictional. Rinaldo v. Corbett, 256 F.3d 1276, 1278 (11th Cir. 2001). In civil cases, Fed.R.App.P. 4(a) and (c) set the following time limits:
(a) Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(1): A notice of appeal in compliance with the requirements set forth in Fed.R.App.P. 3 must be filed in the district court within 30 days after the entry of the order or judgment appealed from. However, if the United States or an officer or agency thereof is a party, the notice of appeal must be filed in the district court within 60 days after such entry. THE NOTICE MUST BE RECEIVED AND FILED IN THE DISTRICT COURT NO LATER THAN THE LAST DAY OF THE APPEAL PERIOD — no additional days are provided for mailing. Special filing provisions for inmates are discussed below.
(b) Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(3): "If one party timely files a notice of appeal, any other party may file a notice of appeal within 14 days after the date when the first notice was filed, or within the time otherwise prescribed by this Rule 4(a), whichever period ends later."
(c) Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(4): If any party makes a timely motion in the district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure of a type specified in this rule, the time for appeal for all parties runs from the date of entry of the order disposing of the last such timely filed motion.
(d) Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(5) and 4(a)(6): Under certain limited circumstances, the district court may extend the time to file a notice of appeal. Under Rule 4(a)(5), the time may be extended if a motion for an extension is filed within 30 days after expiration of the time otherwise provided to file a notice of appeal, upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause. Under Rule 4(a)(6), the time may be extended if the district court finds upon motion that a party did not timely receive notice of the entry of the judgment or order, and that no party would be prejudiced by an extension.
(e) Fed.R.App.P. 4(c): If an inmate confined to an institution files a notice of appeal in either a civil case or a criminal case, the notice of appeal is timely if it is deposited in the institution's internal mail system on or before the last day for filing. Timely filing may be shown by a declaration in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746 or a notarized statement, either of which must set forth the date of deposit and state that first-class postage has been prepaid.
3. Format of the notice of appeal: Form 1, Appendix of Forms to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, is a suitable format. See also Fed.R.App.P. 3(c). A pro se notice of appeal must be signed by the appellant.
4. Effect of a notice of appeal: A district court loses jurisdiction (authority) to act after the filing of a timely notice of appeal, except for actions in aid of appellate jurisdiction or to rule on a timely motion of the type specified in Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(4).
