JESSICA ROGERS, APPELLANT,
v.
WILLIAM BROWN, APPELLEE
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Jessica Rogers appealed a final judgment establishing paternity, awarding custody, visitation, and support. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in all respects except for the trial court's failure to address Rogers' request for attorney's fees, which was remanded for consideration.
The trial court's judgments on paternity, custody, visitation, support, and asset division were affirmed as supported by competent evidence. However, the court's failure to rule on or reserve jurisdiction over Rogers' attorney's fees request constituted reversible error requiring remand for a ruling on that request.
[1] An appellate court reviews a trial court's judgment to determine if it is supported by competent evidence, rather than re-evaluating testimony and evidence.
[2] A trial court commits reversible error by failing to rule on a request for attorney's fees or to reserve jurisdiction to do so.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“it is not the function of the appellate court to substitute its judgment for that of the trial court through re-evaluation of the testimony and evidence”
Establishes the standard of review: appellate courts do not re-weigh evidence but assess whether competent evidence supports the trial court's judgment
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJessica Rogers and William Brown were parties to a paternity action. The trial court issued a final judgment establishing paternity, awarding custody …
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WELLS, Judge.
Jessica Rogers, appeals portions of a final judgment establishing paternity, awarding custody, visitation and support, and adjudicating the parties’ interests in certain assets. We find no error in the trial court’s rulings with the exception of its failure to address Rogers’ request for attorney’s fees and remand for a ruling on that request. See, e.g., Shaw v. Shaw, 334 So. 2d 13, 16 (Fla.1976)(observing “[i]t is not the function of the appellate court to substitute its judgment for that of the trial court through re-evaluation of the testimony and evidence,” but rather the test is “whether the judgment of the trial court is supported by competent evidence”); Harbin v. Harbin, 762 So. 2d 561, 563 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (finding reversible error where the trial court failed either to rule on a fee request or to reserve jurisdiction to do so); see also § 61.30(17)(b), Fla. Stat. (2003) (observing that in determining a retroactive award the court shall consider “[a]ll actual payments made by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent or the child or third parties for the benefit of the child throughout the proposed retroactive period”); § 742.031, Fla. Stat. (2003)(providing that in a paternity action, “[i]f appropriate, the court shall order the father to pay ... moneys sufficient to pay reasonable attorney’s fees”); § 742.045, Fla. Stat. (2003) (“[t]he court may from time to time, after considering the financial resources of both parties, order a party to pay a reasonable amount for attorney’s fees, suit money, and the cost to the other party of maintaining or defending any proceeding under this chapter”). The order under review is affirmed in all other respects.
Affirmed in part and remanded.
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Citator
Cited By
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Remberto Morejon, Jr. v. Dayla M. Batan, 891 So. 2d 1194 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)…PER CURIAM. Remberto Morejon, Jr., appeals a final judgment of paternity, and amendment thereto. We conclude that the child custody determination is supported by competent substantial evidence. See Rogers v. Brown, 884 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); Calam v. Calam, 752 So. 2d 722 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000). The trial court resolved the conflicting testimony of the parties in favor of the appellee mother. This court is not permitted to reweigh the evidence. See Rogers; Zalis v. Zalis…
Authorities Cited
- Shaw v. Shaw, 334 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1976)
- Grisselle T. Harbin v. Harbin, 762 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)