IN RE THE ESTATE OF MORRIS SIMON, DECEASED. DR. SIDNEY SCHREIBER, AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF PEARL SIMON, DECEASED, APPELLANT,
v.
ALFRED R. PALMER, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
An appeals court reversed a circuit court's award of $25,000 in attorney's fees to a curator and personal representative of a deceased person's estate. The court found the fee award was an abuse of discretion where the estate was simple, consisted only of cash, and the award bore no reasonable relationship to the hours worked or the stated hourly rate.
The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by awarding $25,000 in fees where the estate was simple, contained only cash with no complex litigation, and the award was not rationally related to the hours worked multiplied by the stated hourly rate, with no explanation for the discrepancy.
[1] An award of attorney's fees in an estate matter will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion by the trial court.
[2] A trial court is not bound by expert testimony regarding the reasonableness of attorney's fees.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An award of attorney's fees with respect to services rendered in connection with an estate is not to be overturned without a showing of abuse on the part of the trial court.”
Establishes the standard of review for attorney's fee awards in estate cases.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMorris Simon died at age 86 without known heirs, leaving an estate of $77,471.11 in cash. Attorney Alfred Palmer served as curator and personal repres…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Abuse Of Discretion Standard For Fee Awards cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Dr. Sidney Schreiber, as administrator for the estate of Pearl Simon, appeals from a circuit court order awarding a fee of $25,000.00 to appellee, Alfred R. Palmer, for services rendered as curator, personal representative and attorney to the estate of Morris Simon.
Morris Simon died at the age of eighty-six at a hospital on Miami Beach, Florida, without any known heirs. The estate consisted solely of $77,471.11 cash. Attorney Palmer as curator arranged for the funeral and canvassed area banks to locate assets. A wallet containing an identification card listing the name and address of Pearl Simon was found among Simon’s personal effects. After writing to that address, attorney Palmer received notice from attorney Milton Blum of Chicago, Illinois identifying Pearl Simon as the widow of Simon and stating that she was in extremis. Attorney Palmer then ascertained through questioning Blum as to the possibility of children and divorce from Simon, that Pearl was the sole heir of the decedent.
Palmer filed a petition for fees for his services as curator, personal representative, and attorney but did not notify Pearl or attorney Blum of this petition as required by Section 733.106(3), Florida Statutes (1979).
Palmer testified that he worked 150 hours on the estate, 50 of which were time spent by a paralegal. Palmer testified that his usual fee is $125.00 per hour for routine work. This would amount to a fee on a straight hourly basis of $18,750.00. There was also expert testimony that a fee between $30,000.00 to $32,000.00 would be appropriate for Palmer in this case.
An award of attorney’s fees with respect to services rendered in connection with an estate is not to be overturned without a showing of abuse on the part of the trial court. Estate of Granger, 391 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980) (no abuse where complex lawsuit involved novel questions); Estate of McCune, 223 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969).
Though the trial judge correctly determined that he was not bound by the testimony of the expert witness as to the amount of reasonable fees, Estate of Ryecheck, 323 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975), we hold that the court abused its discretion in awarding $25,000.00 fees to Palmer where the estate consisted solely of cash, there was no complex litigation, the estate was admittedly not complicated and the discrepancy between the amount of the award and the number of hours spent times the stated hourly rate is not explained.
Reversed and remanded with instructions to compensate appellee for his services at a rate to be determined as provided in Section 733.617, Florida Statutes (1979).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Miller v. First Am. Bank & Tr., 607 So. 2d 483 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)…olves the notorious “billable hours” syndrome, with its multiple evils of exaggeration, duplication, and invention. Mercy Hosp., Inc. v. Johnson, 431 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 3d DCA), pet. for review denied, 441 So. 2d 632 (Fla.1983); In re Estate of Simon, 402 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), appeal after remand, 427 So. 2d 235 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); see also Browne v. Costales, 579 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 3d DCA) (abuse of “unit billing”), rev. denied, 593 So. 2d 1051 (Fla.1991). Nor are we precluded from reaching this result…1 / 2
-
Sta-Rite Indus., Inc. v. Levey, 909 So. 2d 901 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)…Miller v. First American Bank and Trust, 607 So. 2d 483 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); Florida Nat’l Bank v. Sherouse, 80 Fla. 405, 86 So. 279 (1920); Ziontz v. Ocean Trail Unit Owners Ass’n, Inc., 663 So. 2d 1334 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); In re: Estate of Simon, 402 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981).17 IV. In accordance with these views and holdings, the judgment under review is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion and the appropriate law. Reversed and remanded with direction…
-
Schreiber v. Palmer, 427 So. 2d 235 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)…PER CURIAM. This case was previously before us to review an award of attorney’s fees to appel-lee for services rendered as curator, personal representative and attorney to the estate of the deceased, In re Estate of Morris Simon, 402 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), wherein we reversed the $25,000 fee as being excessive and remanded for further consistent proceedings. On remand, a successor judge without reviewing the record, awarded a fee of $18,000. It is unnecessary to again set out the…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- In re Est. of Charles N. McCUNE, 223 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969)
- Buoni v. Orlando Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 323 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 5th DCA 1975)
- In re Est. of Michael Ryecheck v. Est. of Leona Migon, 323 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)
- In re Est. of Robert J. Granger, 391 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)