ALFRED RAYMOND GAGNON, APPELLANT,
v.
LOIS GAGNON, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court affirmed that husband must pay a portion of wife's attorney's fees in dissolution proceedings based on disparate ability to pay and husband's misconduct, but reversed and remanded for specific factual findings on hourly rate, hours expended, and the portion attributable to husband's conduct.
A trial court may award attorney's fees to a spouse in dissolution proceedings based on disparate financial ability and unnecessary litigation expenses caused by the other spouse's conduct, but must make specific findings regarding hourly rate, hours reasonably expended, and the portion attributable to misconduct.
[1] In a dissolution of marriage proceeding, attorney's fees may be awarded to a spouse based on the parties' disparate financial abilities and unnecessary litigation expense…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn a dissolution of marriage proceeding, the wife requested over $13,000 in attorney's fees and the trial court awarded $6,000 to be paid by the husba…
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SHIVERS, Judge.
Appellant/husband appeals from an order directing him to pay $6,000 of the more than $13,000 in attorney’s fees requested by appellee/wife in the parties’ dissolution of marriage proceedings. We affirm the trial court’s decision to hold husband responsible for at least some portion of wife’s attorney’s fees, finding the award to have been properly based both on the parties’ disparate abilities to pay, Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla.1980), and on the unnecessary expenditure of attorney time caused by husband’s behavior. Chaachou v. Chaachou, 135 So. 2d 206 (Fla.1961). See also Yablon v. Yablon, 511 So. 2d 400 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). We reverse and remand, however, for a redetermination of the amount of fees to be awarded. As in Manuel v. Manuel, 498 So. 2d 1369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), the trial court’s order fails to include specific findings regarding hourly rate, number of hours reasonably expended, and the appropriateness of reduction or enhancement factors, as set out in Florida Patients Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla.1985) or, as applies to this particular case, what portion of the wife’s attorney’s fees were occasioned by husband’s misconduct. Chaa-chou, supra; Johnson v. Johnson, 396 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980).
Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse, and remand.
ZEHMER and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Perez v. Perez, 100 So. 3d 769 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)…sanction for litigation misconduct, the court must make findings that support the reduction or enhancement factors set out in Rosen and must explain what portion of the fees incurred was “occasioned by [the] husband’s misconduct.” Gagnon v. Gagnon, 539 So. 2d 1179, 1179 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); see also Trespalacios v. Trespalacios, 978 So. 2d 858, 861 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008) (reversing fee award because while the trial court may have had the Rosen factors in mind when it mentioned the contentious nature of the litiga…
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Elliott v. Elliott, 867 So. 2d 1198 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)…try of the final judgment of dissolution (September, 2002) was just over two years. In a ease involving equitable distribution of the enhancement value of corporate-related assets, such a time period would hardly seem excessive. In Gagnon v. Gagnon, 539 So. 2d 1179 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989), the trial court was reversed for its failure to include specific findings regarding hourly rate, number of hours reasonably expended and failing to indicate what portion of the wife’s attorney’s fees were occasioned [*1202] by t…
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Marcia L. Arena v. John F. Arena, 103 So. 3d 1044 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)…’s actions, not the Wife’s. And even if the trial court had intended to award some portion of the Wife’s fees and costs as a sanction for the Husband’s litigation misconduct, the fee order contains insufficient findings. See, e.g., Gagnon v. Gagnon, 539 So. 2d 1179, 1179 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (explaining that if attorney’s fees are awarded as sanction for litigation misconduct, the court must make findings that, support the reduction or enhancement factors set out in Rosen and must explain what portion of the fe…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 1980)
- Fla. Patient's Comp. Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985)
- Manuel v. Manuel, 498 So. 2d 1369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Fredericka Phillips Chaachou v. Khudourie Chaachou, 135 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 1961)
- In re Petition of David Krueger for Admission to The Florida Bar, 135 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 1961)
- Johnson v. Johnson, 396 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)
- Yablon v. Yablon, 511 So. 2d 400 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)