JASON GARMON
v.
MEAGAN GARMON

Fla. 6th DCA | 2026-05-01
No. 2024-1564
2026 FL 5120 Florida District Court of Appeal, Sixth District (2026) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Holding

An award of attorney's fees in a post-dissolution proceeding must be supported by competent substantial evidence of the obligor's need for the fees, and reversal is required when such evidence is absent from the record.


Headnotes

[1] In a family law proceeding, an award of attorney's fees must be supported by competent substantial evidence of the requesting party's need for such fees, and the absence…

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Facts & Procedural History

Jason Garmon appealed an order awarding attorney's fees to his former wife, Meagan Garmon, in a post-dissolution of marriage proceeding. Former Husban…

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Opinion of the Court

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF FLORIDA

Case No. 6D2024-1564 Lower Tribunal No. 2018-DR-006333

JASON GARMON, Appellant,

V.

MEAGAN GARMON, Appellee.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County. Elaine A. Barbour, Judge.

May1, 2026

MARLEWSKI, C.A., Associate Judge.

Former Husband, Jason Garmon, appeals an order awarding attorney's fees to his Former Wife, Meagan Garmon, in an underlying post-dissolution of marriage proceeding as well as the order denying his request for a rehearing on the fees motion. Former Husband argued for the first time in his motion for rehearing that Former Wife failed to prove her need for attorney's fees by competent substantial

evidence which should result in the reversal of the court's order granting fees.¹ We agree. Because the record lacks competent substantial evidence to support Former Wife's need for attorney's fees, we reverse the award. See Saporito v. Saporito, 831 So. 2d 697, 701 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002); Rosen v. Rosen, 696 So. 2d 697, 699 (Fla. 1997); Broemer v. Broemer, 109 So. 3d 284, 290 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013); Lau v. Lau, 407 So. 2d 927, 928 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Zahringer v. Zahringer, 813 So. 2d 454, 457 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); Bohner v. Bohner, 997 So. 2d 454, 457 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008); Bauchman v. Bauchman, 253 So. 3d 1143, 1148-49 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018); Graydus v. Graydus, 414 So. 3d 213, 215 (Fla 4th DCA 2025); Carlson v. Carlson, 719 So. 2d 936, 936 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).

REVERSED.

STARGEL and SMITH, JJ., concur.

Allison M. Perry, of Florida Appeals, P.A., Tampa, for Appellant.

Wade P. Luther, of The Law Office of Wade P. Luther, P.A., Montverde, for Appellee.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING

AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

Footnotes
1 A party may raise sufficiency of the evidence for the first time on appeal even if not raised in a motion for rehearing. See Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.530(e) (“When an action has been tried by the court without a jury, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment may be raised on appeal whether or not the party raising the question has made any objection to it in the trial court or made a motion for rehearing, for new trial, or to alter or amend the judgment.").

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