STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE BY AND ON BEHALF OF PHILLIP J. SKALNIAK, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
CHRISTINE M. DEY, FORMERLY KNOWN AS CHRISTINE M. TINELLI, 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.
A former husband appealed an order requiring him to pay $1,500 in attorney fees for the former wife after the trial court found his complaint to domesticate and modify a foreign child support judgment presented no justiciable issue. The appellate court reversed, holding that justiciable issues of law and fact existed regarding domestication of the Alabama judgment and changes in the former wife's income.
The trial court's finding that no justiciable issue of law or fact existed was an abuse of discretion. The former husband was entitled to seek domestication of the Alabama judgment pursuant to chapter 88, Florida Statutes, and justiciable issues of fact existed regarding changes in the former wife's income. The complaint was not so frivolous or untenable as to warrant an attorney fee award under section 57.105(1).
[1] A party is entitled to seek domestication (or registration) of a foreign judgment in Florida pursuant to chapter 88, Florida Statutes.
[2] A complaint seeking to domesticate a foreign judgment and modify child support may present justiciable issues of fact regarding changes in income, marriage, and employmen…
Previewing 2 of 4 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“the former husband was clearly entitled to seek domestication (or registration) of the Alabama judgment in Florida pursuant to chapter 88, Florida Statutes (1997)”
Establishes that the former husband had a statutory right to pursue domestication, creating a justiciable issue of law
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe former husband filed a complaint seeking to domesticate an Alabama judgment for child support and increase the amount. The former wife answered wi…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Justiciable Issue Of Law Or Fact cases and more on FLexlaw
[*636] WEBSTER, J.
Appellant (the former husband) seeks review of an order directing him to pay $1,500.00 in fees for the services of appel-lee’s (the former wife’s) attorney pursuant to section 57.105(1), Florida Statutes (1997), based upon a finding that the former husband’s complaint to establish, and then to modify, a foreign judgment awarding child support presented no justiciable issue of either law or fact. Because we conclude that the record will not support such a finding, we reverse.
The former husband filed a complaint by which he sought to domesticate an Alabama judgment setting the amount of child support to be paid by the former wife, and then to increase the amount. The former wife responded with an answer and counter-complaint by which she, too, expressly requested that the Alabama judgment be domesticated, and that her child support obligation be determined by reference to Florida’s statutory child support guidelines. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the former husband’s complaint in its entirety, and ultimately ordered that he pay $1,500.00 for the services of the former wife’s attorney, finding that no justiciable issue of either law or fact had been presented by the complaint.
Notwithstanding the trial court’s finding to the contrary, it is apparent from the record that justiciable issues did exist. In the first place, the former husband was clearly entitled to seek domestication (or registration) of the Alabama judgment in Florida pursuant to chapter 88, Florida Statutes (1997). Moreover, when the complaint was filed, justiciable issues of fact existed regarding changes in the former wife’s income resulting from her move to Florida, her marriage and her employment in a family-owned business. No reasonable person could find that the complaint was so devoid of justiciable issues of either law or fact when it was filed “as to be completely untenable,” or “frivolous.” Lambert v. Nelson, 573 So. 2d 54, 56 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). Accordingly, we hold that the trial court’s decision to the contrary constituted an abuse of discretion. The order directing the former husband to pay $1,500.00 for the services of the former wife’s attorney is reversed.
REVERSED.
KAHN and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., CONCUR.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Albritton v. Ferrera, 913 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)…ritton and his counsel, Ferrera was required to prove that, at the time of filing, Albritton’s complaint seeking reimbursement of estate expenses completely lacked any justiciable issue of law or fact. See Lambert, 573 So. 2d at 56; Skalniak v. Dey, 737 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). Since Ferrera was proceeding under the 1997 version of section 57.105, she had a much higher burden to meet. Specifically, the complaint must have been so clearly devoid of merit both on the facts and law as to be completely unt…
-
Langford v. Ferrera, 823 So. 2d 795 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)…to an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to section 57.105, the trial court must find a complete absence of a justiciable issue of law or fact raised by the losing party. See Lambert v. Nelson, 573 So. 2d 54, 56 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Skalniak v. Dey, 737 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). The suit must be so clearly devoid of merit both on the facts and law as to be completely untenable. See Demby v. English, 667 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Lambert, 573 So. 2d at 56. Even if a portion of the complaint is friv…
-
Jonnie Davis v. Bill Williams AIR Conditioning & Heating, Inc., 765 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)…cable here,1 the trial court must find that there was a complete absence of a justiciable issue of law or fact raised by the losing party. See Lambert v. Nelson, 573 So. 2d 54, 56 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); State, Dep’t of Revenue ex rel. Skalniak v. Dey, 737 So. 2d 635, 636 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). The entire action must be so clearly devoid of merit both on the facts and the law as to be completely untenable. See Demby v. English, 667 So. 2d 350, 353 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Lambert, 573 So. 2d at 56. Even if a substanti…
Authorities Cited
- Roxanna G. Lambert v. Rickie Nelson, 573 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)