CITY OF MIAMI, APPELLANT,
v.
HERBERT HARRISON, APPELLEE
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The City of Miami appealed a workers' compensation judge's award of $16,500 in attorney's fees to the claimant's counsel. The appellate court affirmed the fee award in part but reversed and remanded to strike 13 hours of billable time that were incurred during the pendency of a prior appeal, as such work before an appellate tribunal is not compensable under Florida law.
The court affirmed the attorney's fee award in part but reversed in part, directing the judge of compensation claims to strike the 13 hours of billable time incurred in 1992 during the pendency of the first appeal because counsel's activities before an appellate tribunal are not compensable under Florida law.
[1] A judge of compensation claims may not award attorney's fees for counsel's activities representing a claimant before an appellate tribunal.
[2] Attorney's fees awarded for services rendered during the pendency of an appeal may be disallowed if the record fails to demonstrate the reasonableness of the billed hours…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“claimant's attorneys are entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee of $16,500.00 to be paid by the employer.”
The judge of compensation claims' initial award that the City of Miami appealed.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe City of Miami employer was ordered to pay the claimant's attorneys $16,500 in reasonable attorney's fees under Florida Statute § 440.34. The claim…
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PER CURIAM.
City of Miami, the employer, appeals an August 1993 order of the judge of compensation claims (JCC) finding that “claimant’s attorneys are entitled to a reasonable attorney’s fee of $16,500.00 to be paid by the employer.” § 440.34, Fla. Stat.
We affirm the order in part and reverse in part. In support of an attorney’s fee in the lower tribunal, Claimant’s counsel submitted an affidavit and list of time billed for the years 1988-1992. City of Miami questioned, inter alia, Claimant’s counsel’s 10 hours billed for “telephone contact with Claimant — intervals less than 15 minutes,” and 3 hours billed for a telephone conference with City’s attorney. Both of these disputed items involved hours billed on unspecified dates in 1992. These 13 hours relate to periods after the filing date of the notice of appeal in the prior litigation (Appeal # 1).
City of Miami v. Harrison, 608 So. 2d 577 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992) (affirming award of prescription reimbursement and reversing on issue of offsets taken against monthly pension benefits).
Because the record fails to demonstrate that the 13 hours of billable time in 1992 (during the pendency of the first appeal) were reasonable, we direct the JCC to strike those 13 hours from the award of trial attorney’s fees. § 440.34, Florida Statutes; Rivera v. Deauville Hotel, Employers Serv. Corp., 277 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 1973) (judge of industrial claims was not authorized to award attorney’s fees for counsel’s activities representing claimant before an appellate tribunal); Lee Engineering & Construction Co. v. Fellows, 209 So. 2d 454 (Fla.1968).
The order is affirmed in all other respects.
AFFIRMED in part and REVERSED in part, with instructions.
WOLF, WEBSTER and MICKLE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Gray v. Attorney Gen., State of Fla. and/or State Attorney, Cir. Court, Volusia Cnty., Fla., 209 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 1968)
- Rivera v. Deauville Hotel, 277 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 1973)
- Roberson v. State, 608 So. 2d 577 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
- City OF Miami v. Harrison, 608 So. 2d 577 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)