THOMAS F. ABDALLA AND CHRISTINE RIDER ABDALLA, APPELLANTS,
v.
SOUTHWIND, INC., APPELLEE
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The court affirmed judgment for the appellee but remanded for the trial court to enter findings of fact regarding attorney's fees as required by Rowe, even though the fee amount itself was not found to be erroneous.
A trial court must set forth specific findings regarding hourly rate, hours expended, and appropriateness of enhancement or reduction when awarding attorney's fees, as required by Rowe, even if the ultimate fee amount is not reversible error.
[1] A trial court awarding attorney's fees must include specific findings regarding the hourly rate, number of hours reasonably expended, and the appropriateness of any reduc…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellants Thomas F. Abdalla and Christine Rider Abdalla challenged a final judgment and attorney's fees award entered in favor of Southwind, Inc. The…
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SCHOONOVER, Acting Chief Judge.
The appellants, Thomas F. Abdalla and Christine Rider Abdalla, challenge a final judgment, which includes an award of attorney’s fees, entered in favor of the appel-lee, Southwind, Inc. We find no merit in any of the appellants’ contentions concerning the entry of the judgment in favor of the appellee and, accordingly, affirm the final judgment in that respect. We agree, however, that when the court awarded attorney’s fees it erred by not setting forth the findings required by Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985), modified, Standard Guar. Ins. Co. v. Quanstrom, 555 So. 2d 828 (Fla.1990). The record indicates that the trial court was presented with sufficient evidence on the factors which must be considered in fixing reasonable attorney’s fees. See Rowe. The court, however, in its order establishing the fees failed to include specific findings as to the hourly rate, the number of hours reasonably expended, and the appropriateness of reduction or enhancement as mandated by Rowe. Accordingly, even though we do not conclude that the record establishes that there was reversible error in the amount of the fees awarded, we must remand for the entry of an order setting forth the findings required by Rowe. Clarkson v. U.S. Home Corp., 529 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); De Loach v. Westman, 506 So. 2d 1142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).
Affirmed in part and remanded.
HALL and THREADGILL, JJ., concur.
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Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs. OF the State OF Fla. v. Crossdale, 585 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…s necessary to remand for a determination of amount of attorney’s fees for this appeal, which we hereby grant to ap-pellee, the trial court should correct his order awarding fees to set forth the missing lodestar findings. Abdalla v. Southwind Inc., 561 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1990). AFFIRMED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS. DELL, J., concurs. ANSTEAD, J., dissents without opinion. . In Stockman v. Downs, 573 So. 2d 835 (Fla.1991), the supreme court has newly required that all post-judgment applications for…
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LEE Cnty. v. Tohari, 582 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)…agreement. Second, it is well established that an order awarding fees must expressly determine the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation and the reasonable hourly rate for the type of litigation involved. Abdalla v. Southwind, Inc., 561 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Baskin v. Guardianship of Baskin, 535 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), review denied, 544 So. 2d 199 (Fla.1989). These two factors are then multiplied to determine the basic lodestar fee. Rowe. Contrary to the landowner’s contentio…
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State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Avraham GIL, 573 So. 2d 90 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…that a trial court, in determining the proper amount of attorney’s fees, set forth specific findings as to hourly rate, the number of hours reasonably expended, and the appropriateness of reduction or enhancement factors. Abdalla v. Southwind, Inc., 561 So. 2d 468 (Pla. 2d DCA 1990); Frechter v. Frechter, 548 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Manuel v. Manuel, 498 So. 2d 1369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). It is undisputed that in this case, the trial court failed to make the requisite findings. On remand we direct the t…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Fla. Patient's Comp. Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985)
- Standard Guar. Ins. Co. v. Quanstrom, 555 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 1990)
- Clarkson v. U.S. Home Corp. & Epic Assocs. 81-Liii, 529 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
- Guion T. DE Loach v. Westman, 506 So. 2d 1142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)