Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas has approved a confidential settlement between Colombia-based pharmaceutical products maker Procaps S.A. and Carlton Fields in Florida, dismissing without prejudice a legal malpractice lawsuit that had sought at least $15 million in damages.

Procaps had claimed that bad advice from Carlton Fields in a federal antitrust lawsuit exposed it to an $18.5 million legal fee award.

The agreement says it's not an admission of liability by either side, who will pay their own attorney fees and costs.

The complaint, filed May 2018, alleged the firm hadn't properly explained the risks of litigating against former joint venture partner Patheon Inc., as Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act allowed the defendant to pursue legal fees after succeeding with a summary judgment. But Procaps alleged that it never would have sued if it knew there was a chance of that happening.

According to online case files, 16 Carlton Fields attorneys in Tampa, Miami, Coral Gables, Tallahassee and New York handled the Procaps litigation.

David P. Ackerman of Akerman's West Palm Beach office represented Carlton Fields.

"The matter was settled and the details are confidential," said Carlton Fields spokesperson Kate Barth.

Likewise, counsel to Procaps, Miami solo practitioner Warren R. Trazenfeld, said his only comment was that case settled and details are confidential.

In its answer to the complaint, Carlton Fields had denied any wrongdoing, arguing that it had acted in good faith under the instruction of its client but that "an attorney does not act as an insurer of the outcome of a case."