MYRA LITTLEJOHN, APPELLANT,
v.
CHARLIE H. LITTLEJOHN, JR., APPELLEE
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A Florida appellate court reversed a trial court's denial of temporary alimony and attorney's fees in a dissolution of marriage case, holding that the court improperly relied solely on the characterization of the marriage as short-term without considering statutory criteria such as need, ability to pay, and standard of living.
The trial court erred in denying temporary relief based solely on the short-term nature of the marriage without considering statutory criteria of need, ability to pay, and standard of living. The court must consider all relevant evidence on remand.
[1] A court must consider the need of the petitioning spouse, the ability of the other to pay, and the parties' standard of living when determining temporary alimony and atto…
[2] The length of a marriage, standing alone, cannot justify the denial of temporary relief in a dissolution proceeding.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The granting of temporary alimony and attorney's fees depends upon the need of the petitioning spouse, the ability of the other to pay, and the parties' standard of living.”
Establishes the statutory criteria the trial court must apply when considering temporary relief
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMyra Littlejohn filed for dissolution of marriage and sought temporary support and attorney's fees. The husband was served on July 15, 1986, with a he…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from a nonfinal order denying the wife’s motion for temporary support and attorney’s fees. Because of the nature of the case, we have expedited our review.
For purposes of the appeal, the parties filed a stipulated statement which reads in pertinent part:
The issue to be presented in this appeal is whether the Wife/Appellant is entitled to temporary support and/or attorney’s fees during the pendency of this action. The issue was presented to the Court in the following manner:
C. The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and a Notice of Hearing on the Wife’s Motion for Temporary Relief were served upon the Husband on said 15th day of July, 1986; the Notice of hearing provided that hearing would be held on the Wife’s Motion for Temporary Relief on July 17, 1986.
D. The parties, and their counsel, appeared before the Court on July 17,1986, in accordance with said Notice of Hearing.
E. No report of the proceedings was made.
F. Counsel for the Husband objected to proceeding on the Wife’s Motion for Temporary Relief on the ground that he had had only two days’ notice thereof, and that he should have had at least five days’ notice.
G. Counsel for the Wife responded that this was an emergency situation, in that the Husband had threatened to cut off the utilities for the home in which the Wife was living, that she was unemployed, and had no sufficient assets with which to support herself, much less to pay for the cost of obtaining new living quarters and paying for the moving expense.
H. Counsel for the Husband replied that the Husband had left the marital home upon the Wife’s demand.
I. The Court responded by stating that “I will reserve ruling on that and the Motion for Temporary Relief is denied because this is a short term marriage.”
J. The Court went on to point out that there were no minor children of this marriage, and that the Wife’s Affidavit showed that she had an income of $118.00 per week from unemployment compensation, and $25.00 per week for child support (from a prior marriage).
K. The Wife’s counsel interjected that the Wife’s unemployment compensation would end within two weeks, and that she was unable to work because of her health, but the Court would not permit him to present any testimony, and declared the hearing terminated.
L. On July 21, 1986 the Court signed an Order denying the Wife’s Motion for Temporary Relief, but providing that the Husband shall continue to pay the costs of the utilities incurred at the marital home pending the final hearing in this cause. Said Order further provided that “No further motions for temporary relief will be entertained by this Court pending final hearing herein.”
The granting of temporary alimony and attorney’s fees depends upon the need of the petitioning spouse, the ability of the other to pay, and the parties’ standard of living. Belcher v. Belcher, 271 So. 2d 7 (Fla.1972). Here, the court refused to consider evidence bearing upon these criteria. Even assuming that the 6V2 years these parties were married constituted a short-term marriage, this fact, standing alone, could not justify the denial of temporary relief. §§ 61.071, 61.16, Fla.Stat. (1985). The provision of the order which precluded further petitions on the subject exacerbated the error. We reverse the order denying temporary relief and remand for a new hearing at which time the court should consider all relevant evidence. Any motion for rehearing directed to this opinion shall be filed within ten days.
GRIMES, A.C.J., and SCHEB and RYDER, JJ., concur.
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Cited By
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Dwyn Daniels Robbie v. Robbie, 591 So. 2d 1006 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…abusing their discretion in refusing to award any temporary alimony at all. See e.g., Lang v. Lang, 551 So. 2d 547 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989); Stowe v. Stowe, 502 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 511 So. 2d 1000 (Fla.1987); Littlejohn v. Littlejohn, 495 So. 2d 271 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986).…
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DE Gutierrez v. Homero M. Gutierrez, 19 So. 3d 1110 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)…A 2005). In considering whether an award of temporary alimony is warranted, the trial court must consider the parties’ standard of living, along with the need of the petitioning spouse and the other spouse’s ability to pay. Littlejohn v. Littlejohn, 495 So. 2d 271, 272 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Vickers v. Vickers, 413 So. 2d 788, 789 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). In Littlejohn, this court reversed an order denying temporary relief when the trial court had refused to consider evidence relevant to the wife’s need. 495 So. 2d a…
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Nishman v. Stein (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)…the proceedings. See George v. George, 32 So. 3d 651, 652-53 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (discussing temporary support orders in dissolution proceedings and procedure utilized by trial courts based on the urgency of such matters); Littlejohn v. Littlejohn, 495 So. 2d 271, 272 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986) (noting that due to "the nature of the case, we have expedited our review" of the trial court's denial of the wife's motion for temporary support and attorney's fees). Not to mention that "[t]he rights of children deserve fi…
Authorities Cited
- Annabelle G. Belcher v. Belcher, 271 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 1972)