MARY ANITA KOZLIK, APPELLANT,
v.
JOSEPH R. KOZLIK, APPELLEE
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A Florida appellate court addressed enforcement of a domesticated New York divorce decree establishing child support arrearages and the propriety of attorney's fees. The court held that contempt proceedings cannot enforce arrearages that accrued before domestication of a foreign decree, but affirmed the trial court's establishment of the arrearage amount and remanded for further proceedings on attorney's fees.
The trial court properly denied attorney's fees under the test in Krasner v. Krasner, absent a showing of the wife's inability to pay and the husband's ability to pay. The trial court properly declined to enforce arrearages by contempt, since a foreign decree cannot be enforced by contempt in Florida and the Florida court never entered a separate order requiring payment of the arrearages themselves; however, the wife is entitled to a judgment for the arrearages found by the June 3, 1981 order and may apply for such judgment upon remand.
[1] A Florida court may establish a foreign divorce decree as a Florida judgment, and subsequently enforce its terms.
[2] A party seeking attorney's fees in a dissolution action must demonstrate an inability to pay such fees to warrant appellate disturbance of a trial court's denial of the r…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“Even if the New York decree had established an amount of arrearages and ordered appellee to make payment (which it did not) that commandment is not enforceable by contempt in a Florida court.”
Establishes that foreign decrees cannot be enforced by contempt in Florida, even if they contain arrearage amounts.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAfter a New York divorce, the former husband moved to Florida. The former wife filed a complaint in Florida to establish the New York decree as a Flor…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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HERSEY, Judge.
After a New York divorce the former husband, appellee in this appeal, moved to Florida. In due course appellant filed in the appropriate Florida court a Complaint to Establish Foreign Decree as Florida Judgment. Appellant also requested enforcement of the terms of the decree after establishment.
Pursuant to a motion for judgment on the pleadings an agreed order was entered establishing the New York decree as a Florida judgment. Subsequently, pursuant to the recommendations contained in a master’s report, the trial court entered an order finding that appellee-husband was in arrears in the amount of $1,050.00 of child support, which arrearages accrued prior to domestication of the foreign decree. The order required appellee to pay $75.00 per week as child support and contained other provisions not pertinent to the issues on appeal. Appellee thereupon moved to strike the case from the trial calendar, which motion was granted on the grounds that all issues framed by the pleadings had been resolved. Appellant takes this appeal from that order, raising two points for our consideration.
Among other things, the trial court denied appellant’s request for attorneys’ fees. Having in mind the ameliorating effect of Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla.1980), we nevertheless are inclined to the view that appellant does not meet the test of Krasner v. Krasner, 339 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976) and related cases that require a showing of abuse of discretion before an award concerning attorneys’ fees in a dissolution action will be disturbed on appeal. We are further persuaded to affirm for lack of evidence in the record to show appellant’s inability to pay attorney’s fees. Patterson v. Patterson, 348 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977).
The second point on appeal complains of the trial court’s refusal to enforce payment of the arrearages in child support, specifically, by contempt, or generally, by some other appropriate remedy.
Even if the New York decree had established an amount of arrearages and ordered appellee to make payment (which it did not) that commandment is not enforceable by contempt in a Florida court. Grotnes v. Grotnes, 338 So. 2d 1122 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). Further, there is no order or judgment of a Florida court requiring appellee to pay the arrearages in child support. Consequently, contempt proceedings are not available to enforce such payment. Appellant is, however, entitled to a judgment for the arrearages found in the order of June 3,1981, for which appropriate application may be made upon remand. We note that the trial court has retained jurisdiction to enter further orders and jurisdiction will reattach upon issuance of the mandate from this court.
In our view the trial court has not refused to enter a judgment for arrearages nor taken nor failed to take any other action that prejudices appellant’s position. Accordingly, we affirm.
On remand appellant may notice a hearing to determine her entitlement to attorney’s fees for this appeal, which the trial court may grant upon a showing of appellant’s need and appellee’s ability to pay.
AFFIRMED but REMANDED for additional proceedings.
GLICKSTEIN, J., and OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., (Retired), Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Morin v. Morin, 466 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)…e Massachusetts judgment. Furthermore, there exists no order or judgment of a Florida court requiring Mr. Morin to pay arrearages; therefore, contempt proceedings are not available to enforce payment of the past-due installments. Kozlick v. Kozlick, 416 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Grotnes v. Grotnes, 338 So. 2d 1122 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). Third, Mrs. Morin claims that the trial court erred in modifying payments retroactively to January 20, 1983. We agree. Although the trial court had the authority to refus…
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Raskin v. Raskin, 625 So. 2d 1314 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)…ife sought alimony arrear-ages only for unpaid arrearages accruing after the trial court domesticated the final judgment. Smith v. Smith, 543 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), Serko v. Serko, 385 So. 2d 1117 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980). Cf. Kozlik v. Kozlik, 416 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). That is, the amount of alimony arrearages was based on the Florida domesticated judgment as retroactively modified by the Florida court. The trial court has inherent jurisdiction to enforce its own orders. In fact, during the he…
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In re the Marriage of Irwin L. Mauldin v. Mauldin, 493 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)…of the dissolution. She is, and was during the dissolution proceedings, able to hire her own competent counsel. It is not necessary nor fair to require appellant to pay her lawyer. Seitz v. Seitz, 471 So. 2d 612 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Kozlik v. Kozlik, 416 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). That portion of the judgment requiring appellant to pay appellee’s attorney’s fees is reversed. The remainder of the judgment is affirmed. AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part. UPCHURCH, C.J., and COWART, J., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 1980)
- Patterson v. Patterson, 348 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)
- Clair Krasner v. Krasner, 339 So. 2d 674 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)
- Grotnes v. Grotnes, 338 So. 2d 1122 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)