BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
CANAVERAL PROPERTIES, INC., ET AL., APPELLEES
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.
Brevard County appeals from an order awarding attorney's fees and costs in an eminent domain case. The court affirms the cost and expert fee awards but reverses the attorney's fees award because it was calculated based on a recovery amount that was subsequently reduced on appeal, requiring complete reconsideration under the proper statutory analysis.
The court affirms the awards of costs and expert fees but reverses the attorney's fees award. The case is remanded for complete reconsideration of attorney's fees under the proper Delco analysis, as simply striking the 20% benefit was insufficient when the underlying judgment amount was substantially reduced on appeal.
[1] In eminent domain actions, attorney's fees must be reconsidered when the underlying judgment is reversed or reduced on appeal.
[2] When determining attorney's fees under section 73.092(1), Florida Statutes (1993), the court must give the greatest weight to the benefit resulting to the client from the…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“Under the 1993 version of section 73.092(1), Florida Statutes, applicable here, in setting the fee the court must "give greatest weight" to the benefit resulting to the client from the services rendered.”
Establishes the statutory standard governing attorney's fee awards in eminent domain cases
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn an eminent domain action, the trial court initially awarded landowners (Canaveral Properties, Inc., et al.) $765,000 in compensation including seve…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
COBB, Judge.
Brevard County appeals from an order in an eminent domain action on its motion for reconsideration of attorney’s fees and costs and amended order awarding attorney’s fees, expert fees and costs. The order awards the attorneys for appellees Canaveral Properties, Inc., et al. (landowners), $387,500 in attorney’s fees and $32,500 in costs, as well as expert fees and costs totaling $207,915. We affirm the cost and expert fee awards but reverse the award of attorney’s fees.
The original award of attorney’s fees in this ease, which also included an additional $151,244 as a 20% benefit of the landowners’ recovery, was predicated upon the landowners’ recovery in the trial court of $765,000, including severance damages. However, on appeal the severance damages were stricken and the recovery was ordered reduced to $226,200. See Brevard County v. Canaveral Properties, Inc., 658 So. 2d 590 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995), rev. denied, 670 So. 2d 937 (Fla.1996). The trial court thereafter was asked to reconsider the award of attorney’s fees. The court merely struck the benefit and reconfirmed the remainder of the attorney’s fee award, resulting in an ' attorney’s fee far greater than the landowners’ recovery.
Under the 1993 version of section 73.092(1), Florida Statutes, applicable here, in setting the fee the court must “give greatest weight” to the benefit resulting to the client from the services rendered. Recently, in Seminole County v. Delco Oil, Inc., 669 So. 2d 1162 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), this court enunciated the analysis applicable to an award of attorney’s fees under section 73.092, Florida Statutes (1993). Under the Delco analysis, reversal of the original judgment of $765,000 in favor of the landowners and remand for entry of a judgment for $226,200 requires a complete reconsideration of the attorney’s fee award, not simply the striking of the 20% benefit of $151,244 which was improper anyway under the 1993 version of section 73.092. See Delco, 669 So. 2d at 1167. The original award is based on expert testimony which itself was predicated on the landowners’ very substantial recovery. That recovery, however, did not withstand appellate scrutiny. The cause is remanded for reconsideration of the attorney’s fee award under Delco. No additional attorney’s fees should be awarded for time spent relitigating the correct amount of the fee to be awarded. See Seminole County v. Butler, 676 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 686 So. 2d 581 (Fla.1996).
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED.
GRIFFIN and ANTOON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Brevard Cnty. v. Canaveral Props., Inc., 696 So. 2d 1244 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)…erest or welfare. REVERSED and REMANDED. GOSHORN and ANTOON, JJ., concur. . Brevard County v. Canaveral Properties, Inc., 658 So. 2d 590 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995), rev. denied, 670 So. 2d 937 (Fla.1996). . Brevard County v. Canaveral Properties, Inc., 689 So. 2d 1309 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997).…
-
Dep't OF Transp. v. Duplissey, 751 So. 2d 117 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)…’s fees and pretrial interest. Because we are reversing the amended final judgment as to the award severance damages, we must also reverse the award of attorney’s fees and interest contained therein. See Brevard County v. Canaveral Properties, Inc., 689 So. 2d 1309 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), rev. denied, 670 So. 2d 937 (Fla.1996). Accordingly, we reverse and remand this matter to the trial court with directions to enter final judgment in accordance with the jury’s verdict and to recalculate the attorney’s fees and…
Authorities Cited
- Seminole Cnty. v. Butler, 676 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Seminole Cnty. v. Delco OIL, Inc., 669 So. 2d 1162 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Brevard Cnty. v. Canaveral Props., Inc., 658 So. 2d 590 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)