OCIE C. ALLEN, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
PATRICIA LAABS, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF ERVIN E. LAABS, DECEASED, 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.
Allen appeals a default judgment entered against him for breach of shareholder and employment agreements with the Laabs estate. The court affirms the underlying judgment but reverses the attorney's fees award, finding it improperly calculated to include fees for collecting taxes and license fees rather than only compensation-related claims.
Attorney's fees are recoverable only for legal services rendered to collect compensation under the Employment Agreement's guarantee provision, not for collection efforts related to unpaid taxes and license fees. The judgment must be reversed and remanded because it fails to specify the basis for the award and lacks the required findings under Florida law.
[1] Attorney's fees are recoverable under a contract's "Guarantee" provision only when the prevailing party succeeds on claims related to compensation, not on claims concerni…
[2] A contractual provision for attorney's fees must specify the statutory or contractual basis for the award.
Previewing 2 of 3 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 to Laabs is proper only where Laabs prevails as an employee regarding his salary as opposed to a shareholder regarding the taxes and fees”
Establishes the limitation on attorney's fees—they are available only for employment-related compensation claims, not shareholder/tax obligations
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAllen and Ervin Laabs were sole shareholders in Fort Myers Liquor, Inc., formed to utilize a liquor license owned by Laabs. They executed an Incorpora…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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SCHEB, Judge.
The appellant, Ocie Allen, challenges a final judgment entered after he was found to be in default for failing to answer the appellee’s complaint. We have examined the numerous issues he raises on appeal and find merit only in his contentions regarding the award of attorney’s fees to the appellee.
Allen and the late Ervin E. Laabs were the sole shareholders in Fort Myers Liquor, Inc., a corporation they formed in order to utilize a liquor license belonging to Laabs. They entered into both an “Incorpo-rators/Shareholders Agreement” and an “Employment Agreement.” The “Incorpo-rators/Shareholders Agreement” provided that Allen pay Laabs’ monthly compensation, as well as taxes and license fees of the corporation. The “Employment Agreement” detailed the employment conditions and provided that Allen was personally obligated to pay the debt.
Allen failed to meet his obligations under the contracts, and after Laabs’ death, Laabs’ estate filed suit. Final judgment awarded Laabs’ estate $53,956.10 in damages, $19,956.39 in prejudgment interest, $17,272.50 in attorney’s fees, and $240.95 in court costs, for a total award of $91,425.94.
Allen argues that the attorney’s fees award must be reduced because fees could only be recovered for legal services rendered to collect compensation, as opposed to unpaid taxes and fees. We agree.
The Incorporators/Shareholders’ Agreement does not provide for attorney’s fees. The Employment Agreement’s paragraph 7, entitled “Guarantee,” obligates Allen and Fort Myers Liquor, Inc. to guarantee the compensation of Laabs. That paragraph provides that if a civil action is brought by employee against employer, the prevailing party is entitled to attorney’s fees and costs. Thus, an award of attorney’s fees to Laabs is proper only where Laabs prevails as an employee regarding his salary as opposed to a shareholder regarding the taxes and fees.
Allen also correctly points out that the final judgment fails to specify the statutory or contractual basis of the award or set forth the specific 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).
Accordingly, we reverse the attorney’s fees and remand. The trial court may take any additional evidence necessary in order to determine the proper amount of attorney’s fees, after which an award of attorney’s fees should be entered in favor of the appellee, complete with the findings required by Rowe.
SCHOONOVER, C.J., and RYDER, J., concur.
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Lubkey v. Compuvac Sys., Inc., 857 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…incurred in that endeavor. When a party claims fees under a written agreement, the entitlement to the fees extends only to the counts based on that agreement. Clipper v. Bay Oaks Condo. Ass’n, 810 So. 2d 541, 544 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Allen v. Laabs, 567 So. 2d 53 [*968] (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). Further, the party seeking fees has the burden to allocate them to the issues for which fees are awardable or to show that the issues were so intertwined that allocation is not feasible. Clipper, 810 So. 2d at 544; Franzen…
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Justyna Brysiak Clipper v. BAY Oaks Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 810 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)…ng is that [the defendants are] entitled to attorney’s fees up to count IV being dismissed.... ” Where a party is entitled to fees pursuant to a written agreement, that entitlement extends only to the counts based on that agreement. Allen v. Laabs, 567 So. 2d 53 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). The party claiming fees has the burden of allocating the fees to the issues on which fees are awardable, or of showing that the issues are so intermingled that allocation is not feasible. Franzen v. Lacuna Golf Ltd. P’ship, 717 S…
Authorities 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)