MELISSA WOODMAN, ET AL.
v.
BRICKELL MAR, LLC
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 defendant's claim for attorney's fees following dismissal of a small claims action must be made either in a motion to dismiss or by separate motion filed within thirty days of dismissal, and failure to include the claim in an initial motion does not constitute a waiver.
[1] In a small claims action where no responsive pleading is required, a defendant's claim for attorney's fees need not be set forth in a motion to dismiss but may instead be…
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“[W]e require that a defendant's claim for attorney fees is to be made either in the defendant's motion to dismiss or by a separate motion which must be filed within thirty days following a dismissal of the action.”
Court's statement of the controlling legal standard from Green v. Sun Harbor Homeowners' Ass'n.
Appellants Melissa Woodman and Timothy Enriquez were sued by Brickell Mar, LLC in the Small Claims Division. Brickell Mar voluntarily dismissed its cl…
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 Attorney'S Fees Recovery cases and more on FLexlaw
Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida
Opinion filed December 31, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________
No. 3D25-0470 Lower Tribunal No. 22-14075-SP-25 ________________
Melissa Woodman, et al., Appellants,
vs.
Brickell Mar, LLC, Appellee.
An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Jacqueline Woodward, Judge.
Kula & Associates, P.A., and Elliot B. Kula and William D. Mueller, for appellants.
Welbaum Guernsey, and Robert J. Black, for appellee.
Before LOGUE, GORDO and BOKOR, JJ.
GORDO, J.
2
Melissa Woodman and Timothy Enriquez (“Appellants”) appeal the trial court’s denial of their motion for attorney’s fees and costs following Brickell Mar, LLC’s, (“Brickell Mar”) voluntary dismissal of its claim in the Small Claims Division against the Appellants. We have jurisdiction. Fla. R. App. P. 9.030(b)(1)(A). We reverse and remand.
The trial court in this case applied Stockman v. Downs, 573 So. 2d 835, 837–838 (Fla. 1991), and determined the Appellants failed to properly place Brickell Mar on notice of the intent to claim attorney’s fees. This case is instead controlled by Green v. Sun Harbor Homeowners’ Ass’n, 730 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 1998) and French Vill. Condo. Ass’n., Inc. v. Flynn, 403 So. 3d 854 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025).
“This case presents a situation different from that in Stockman.” Green, 730 So. 2d at 1262. “In Stockman, there had been a responsive pleading (an answer) and also a trial before the defendant moved for attorney fees.” Id. “In this case, there had been only a complaint and a motion to dismiss before the defendant moved for attorney fees.” Id. “This case had not proceeded to the point at which the defendant was required to answer.” Id. “A motion to dismiss is not a pleading.” Id. at 1263. “[T]he failure to set forth a claim for attorney fees in a motion does not constitute a waiver.” Id. “[W]e require that a defendant’s claim for attorney fees is to be made either
Reversed and remanded.