JOHN BROWN AND GEORGENE BROWN
v.
OMEGA INSURANCE COMPANY

Fla. 4th DCA | 2021-07-21
No. 21-0120
Tietjens
46 Fla. L. Weekly D1218 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2021) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

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Holding

An award of attorney's fees that is dependent upon a judgment must be reversed when the underlying judgment is reversed on appeal.


Headnotes

[1] An award of attorney's fees that depends on a judgment must be reversed when the underlying judgment is reversed on appeal.

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Key Quotes

“[W]here an award of attorney's fees is dependent upon the judgment obtained, . . . reversal of the . . . judgment necessitates the reversal of the fee award.”

Court citing Hickman v. Barclay's Int'l Realty, Inc. as authority for the principle that dependent fee awards must be reversed with their underlying judgments.

Facts & Procedural History

The trial court entered a final summary judgment in favor of Omega Insurance Company against John and Georgene Brown, and subsequently awarded attorne…

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Opinion of the Court

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FOURTH DISTRICT

JOHN BROWN and GEORGENE BROWN,

Appellants,

v.

OMEGA INSURANCE COMPANY,

Appellee.

No. 4D21-120

[July 21, 2021]

Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; John S. Kastrenakes, Judge; L.T. Case No. 502018CA010137XXXMB.

Earl I. Higgs, Jr., of Higgs Law, P.A., Orlando, for appellants. Scot E. Samis of Traub, Lieberman, Straus & Shrewsberry LLP, St. Petersburg, for appellee.

CONFESSION OF ERROR

MAY, J.

This is an appeal of an attorney’s fees and costs judgment entered following a final summary judgment. We stayed this appeal pending a decision in the appeal of the underlying final summary judgment. Order, Brown v. Omega Ins. Co., No. 4D21-120 (Fla. 4th DCA Feb. 18, 2021) (order granting motion to stay).

We reversed the final summary judgment in Brown v. Omega Insurance Co., 46 Fla. L. Weekly D1218 (Fla. 4th DCA May 26, 2021). The mandate issued on June 17, 2021. Order, Brown v. Omega Ins. Co., No. 4D21-120 (Fla. 4th DCA June 17, 2021) (order lifting the stay). The parties have now filed a Confession of Error.

Based on the reversal of the underlying judgment, and with the consent of both parties, we reverse the attorney’s fees and costs judgment. Hickman v. Barclay’s Int’l Realty, Inc., 12 So. 3d 327, 327 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (“[W]here an award of attorney’s fees is dependent upon the

2

judgment obtained, . . . reversal of the . . . judgment necessitates the reversal of the fee award.” (first alteration in original)).

Reversed and remanded. WARNER and LEVINE, JJ., concur.

* * * Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Brown v. Omega Ins. Co., 46 Fla. L. Weekly D1218 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021)
  • …0 (1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1009, 90 S.Ct. 1237, 25 L.Ed.2d 422 (1970). Excessive parsonage allowances have specifically been held to preclude a church from attaining tax exempt status. See Unitary Mission Church of Long Island v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 507 (1980), aff'd by unpublished order, (2d Cir. Jan. 19, 1981). Here, Hall and the two other church officers received a rental allowance to cover their housing and rental payments, utilities, and maintenance. The rental allowance depended on how much t…
  • …n Church of Universal Brotherhood Assembled Inc., v. Comm’r, 74 T.C. 1223 (1980) (church paid living expenses of minister in return for virtually all of his income) aff’d, 647 F. 2d 163 (2d Cir.1981); Unitary Mission Church of Long Island v. Comm’r, 74 T.C. 507 (1980) (church’s ministers received travel expenses, loans and fluctuating allowances); Beth-El Ministries, Inc. v. U.S., 79-2 U.S.Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶ 9412 (D.D.C.1979) (organization provided members with food, clothing, shelter and support in return f…

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