STEVEN DONALD JAFFE, APPELLANT,
v.
MARCIA SPECTER JAFFE, APPELLEE
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The Fourth District affirmed a temporary relief order awarding $100,000 in attorney's fees and costs to the wife, rejecting the husband's complaint about limited hearing time and finding the wife's proposed budget of $506,579.76 grossly excessive.
A trial court's award of $100,000 in temporary attorney's fees and costs in a divorce case is reasonable and not an abuse of discretion, even where the wife's proposed litigation budget is grossly excessive.
[1] A trial court has wide discretion to control testimony at temporary relief hearings in family law cases to prevent judicial gridlock and efficiently manage its docket.
Previewing 1 of 1 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“A court has wide latitude in controlling the testimony at temporary relief hearings; otherwise, these hearings would expand into the invasion of Normandy, consume the court's time, produce judicial gridlock, and prevent it from disposing of the many other cases in the family division.”
The court justified its control over testimony at temporary relief hearings by explaining the practical necessity of limiting such proceedings.
In a divorce proceeding, the husband challenged a temporary relief order, complaining he did not have a full opportunity to be heard at a hearing that…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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GROSS, J.
We affirm the temporary relief order under review. The husband complains about not having a full opportunity to be heard. The court granted the wife’s motion to extend the hearing to an hour. The transcript reveals that the court expended one hour and forty minutes at the temporary relief hearing. The court heard testimony, including that of both parties’ accountants. A court has wide latitude in controlling the testimony at temporary relief hearings; otherwise, these hearings would expand into the invasion of Normandy, consume the court’s time, produce judicial gridlock, and prevent it from disposing of the many other cases in the family division. See Mullins v. Mullins, 799 So. 2d 450, 451 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).
We find the wife’s proposed litigation budget of $506,579.76 to be grossly excessive for this case, assuming that there is no conduct on the part of the husband after the temporary relief hearing that justifies such expenses. See, e.g., Tomaino v. Tomaina, 629 So. 2d 874, 875 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993) (noting that fees of $50,000 to $200,000, in the context of litigating a divorce through trial “are not unusual.”).
However, the trial court’s award of $100,000 as temporary fees and costs was reasonable and not an abuse of discretion.
KLEIN and SHAHOOD, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Valdes v. Valdes, 80 So. 3d 1130 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Jaffe v. Jaffe, 854 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Mullins v. Mullins, 799 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). GROSS, CIKLIN and LEVINE, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Tomaino v. Tomaino, 629 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
- Mullins v. Mullins, 799 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)