BEN WILSON BANE, APPELLANT,
v.
CONSUELLA KATHLEEN BANE, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1999-11-10
No. 98-02291
THREADGILL, A.C.J., and PARKER, J., Concur.
750 So. 2d 77 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1999) Caution
Cited by 14 cases

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Holding

Attorney's fees are authorized under chapter 61 for proceedings to set aside a property settlement agreement procured by fraud, but the trial court must consider all factors outlined in Rosen v. Rosen before awarding fees.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court is bound to follow the precedent of a sister district court of appeal in the absence of an interdistrict conflict.

[2] Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes, governing dissolution of marriage actions, authorizes an award of attorney's fees for a proceeding to set aside a property settlement…

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Facts & Procedural History

The former wife sought attorney's fees incurred in successfully setting aside a property settlement agreement due to the former husband's misrepresent…

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Opinion of the Court
BLUE, Judge.

BLUE, Judge.

Ben Wilson Bane, the former husband, appeals the award of attorney’s fees and costs to Consuella Kathleen Bane, the former wife. The fees and costs in this dissolution of marriage action were incurred by the Former Wife in her successful effort to set aside a final judgment incorporating a property settlement agreement that she contended was the product of the Former Husband’s misrepresentation and coercion. We reverse for a hearing, at which time the trial court shall consider all of the factors outlined in Rosen v. Rosen, 696 So. 2d 697 (Fla.1997), before making a decision on fees.

A full recitation of the facts is unnecessary except for the procedural posture of this case in its various stages. Less than three months after signing a settlement agreement, the Former Wife filed a motion to vacate the final judgment of dissolution under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540. The trial court granted relief and this court affirmed. See Bane v. Bane, 701 So. 2d 872 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997) (table citation). Subsequently, the parties proceeded with the dissolution proceedings. During that time, the Former Wife sought to recover the attorney’s fees and costs that she incurred for the Rule 1.540 proceedings and appeal.

In Spano v. Spano, 698 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), the Fourth District held that there is no basis to award attorney’s fees for a Rule 1.540 attack on a property settlement agreement. Notwithstanding Spano, the trial court1 granted the Former Wife’s motion for fees, concluding that although Spano appeared to be directly on point, it was wrongly decided. This was clear error. Because there was no decision by the Second District on this issue, the trial court was bound to follow the Fourth District’s opinion. See Pardo v. State, 596 So. 2d 665, 666 (Fla.1992) (explaining that “in the absence of interdistrict conflict, district court decisions bind all Florida trial courts”).

Although it was error to fail to follow the binding precedent of the Fourth District, we do not reverse on this basis because we also disagree with Spano. We have reviewed Spano and the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion in Rosen. Based on Rosen, we conclude that fees are not precluded for a proceeding to vacate a final judgment of dissolution and property settlement agreement because the attorney’s fees provision in chapter 61, Florida Statutes, is to be “liberally—not restrictively— construed.” 696 So. 2d at 700. Even the Fourth District recognized that fees might be warranted in some cases2 and noted that the Rosen factors would need to be consulted prior to making any such fee award. See Spano, 698 So. 2d at 828-29. We hold that chapter 61 authorizes an award of attorney’s fees for a proceeding to set aside a property settlement agreement that was the product of one party’s fraud. Accordingly, we certify conflict with Spano.

From our limited record on appeal, however, we are not able to tell whether the successor judge reviewed the entire record of the proceedings before awarding fees or reviewed only the order granting the Former Wife relief under Rule 1.540. We are also unable to determine whether the judge weighed all of the Rosen factors in awarding these fees. In awarding fees under section 61.16:

[T]he financial resources of the parties are the primary factor to be considered. However, other relevant circumstances to be considered include factors such as the scope and history of the litigation; the duration of the litigation; the merits of the respective positions; whether the litigation is brought or maintained primarily to harass (or whether a defense is raised mainly to frustrate or stall); and the existence and course of prior or pending litigation.

Rosen, 696 So. 2d at 700. We note that this is a case where need and ability to pay are completely irrelevant. It appears from our review that the trial court relied on one Rosen factor only, the Former Husband’s misconduct. The record, however, indicates that the Former Wife was not blameless and her negligence played a part in the way the case progressed. Accordingly, we reverse the award of $246,390.98 in attorney’s fees and costs. On remand the trial court shall consider the record as a whole in light of this opinion and the supreme court’s opinion in Rosen.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings; conflict certified.

THREADGILL, A.C.J., and PARKER, J., Concur. . We note that the judge who ruled on the motion for fees was not the same judge who vacated the final judgment.

. “[Ejven assuming that in some rare case the party moving to set it aside might arguably qualify for preliminary legal fees under section 61.16 simply to undertake the effort of convincing a judge that the agreement should be cancelled, there is absolutely no justification in our mind to allow that unsuccessful party to recover fees when the attempt is later found without merit.” Spano v. Spano, 698 So. 2d 324, 328 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).


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Cited By

  • Bane v. Consuella Kathleen Bane, 775 So. 2d 938 (Fla. 2000)
    …PARIENTE, J. We have for review the decision in Bane v. Bane, 750 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999), which the district court certified to be in conflict with the opinion in Spano v. Spano, 698 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. The conflict issue presented by this case is wh…
  • Arizona L. Sumlar v. Sumlar, 827 So. 2d 1079 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
    …describing specific acts of bad faith conduct that resulted in unnecessary incurrence of attorney’s fees). This sanction can be imposed also for bad faith conduct against a party. Id.; Bitterman v. Bitterman, 714 So. 2d 356 (Fla.1998); Bane v. Bane, 750 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (remanding for hearing to permit trial court to consider all factors pertinent to award of attorney’s fees, where trial court appeared to have awarded former wife fees and costs associated with her successful motion to vacate fina…
  • Mercury Ins. Co. OF Fla. v. Coatney, 910 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)
    …the subject circuit, the trial court is bound to follow precedents of other district courts of appeal. See Pardo v. State, 596 So. 2d 665, 666-67 (Fla.1992). Accord Gross v. State, 765 So,2d 39, 48 (Fla.2000) (Anstead, J., concurring); Bane v. Bane, 750 So. 2d 77, 78 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). Because there was no decision from this court on point, the trial court was required to follow the Second District decision in Allstate in ruling on the declaratory judgment action. The record in this case reflects that Merc…

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