PAMELA L. ALTMAN, ETC.
v.
SHEILA E. BROWN
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A trial court order removing a trustee under section 736.0706, Fla. Stat., and imposing a surcharge is appealable and reviewable, but an order merely determining the right to attorney's fees without setting the amount is non-final and non-appealable, and a requirement to make interim payment while leaving factual matters unresolved is subject to quashing by writ of certiorari.
[1] An order that merely determines a party's entitlement to attorney's fees without fixing the amount is non-final and non-appealable.
[2] An interlocutory order requiring a party to make an interim payment while leaving intertwined factual matters unresolved may be quashed by writ of certiorari as presentin…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Courts have consistently found that an order resolving only part of a civil lawsuit by requiring a party to make an interim payment while leaving intertwined factual matters unresolved presents the type of irreparable harm and departure from the essential requirements of the law remediable by issuance of a writ of certiorari.”
Cited from People's Tr. Ins. Co. v. Gonzalez to justify quashing the sixty-day payment deadline.
Pamela Altman was removed as trustee of a trust and ordered to pay a $134,000 surcharge into a trust income account within sixty days. The trial court…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Pamela L. Altman, appeals an order which (1) removed her as a trustee of the relevant trust under section 736.0706, Florida Statutes (2020); (2) imposed a $134,000 surcharge upon her, ordered the amount paid into a specific trust income account within sixty days, and further ruled that the surcharge was without prejudice to the plaintiffs’ request for further surcharges or damages in the case; and (3) determined that the plaintiffs are entitled to attorney’s fees and costs in connection with their motion for Altman’s removal as a trustee and for surcharge.
We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction to the extent Altman seeks review of the trial court’s determination that the plaintiffs are entitled to attorney’s fees. An order which merely determines the right to attorney’s fees without setting the amount is a nonfinal, non-appealable order. Garcia v. Valladares, 99 So. 3d 518 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011). To the extent Altman seeks review of that portion of the order directing her to deposit money into the trust income account within sixty days, we exercise our discretion to treat the appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari, grant the petition, and quash that portion of the order. See People’s Tr. Ins. Co. v. Gonzalez, 318 So. 3d 583, 583 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021) (“Courts have consistently found that an order resolving only part of a civil lawsuit by requiring a party to make an interim payment while leaving intertwined factual matters unresolved presents the type of irreparable harm and departure from the essential requirements of 2 the law remediable by issuance of a writ of certiorari.”); see also Mohler v. Elliott, 332 So. 3d 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022). In all other respects, the order is affirmed.
Affirmed in part; appeal dismissed in part for lack of jurisdiction; petition granted and the portion of order requiring payment within sixty days is quashed.
3
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Mohler v. Elliott, 332 So. 3d 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022)…rty to make an interim payment while leaving intertwined factual matters unresolved presents the type of irreparable harm and departure from the essential requirements of the law remediable" on certiorari review. People's Tr. Ins. Co. v. Gonzalez, 318 So. 3d 583, 583 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021). Petition for writ of certiorari granted; order quashed. LUCAS and LABRIT, JJ., Concur. Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.…
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Marko Dejanovic v. Block, 388 So. 3d 907 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024)…nterim payment while leaving intertwined factual matters unresolved presents the type of irreparable harm and departure from the essential requirements of the law remediable by issuance of a writ of certiorari.” People’s Trust Ins. Co. v. Gonzalez, 318 So. 3d 583, 583 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021); see also Kratos Holdings, LLC v. Direct Invs. Int’l, LLC, 323 So. 3d 334, 336 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021) (granting the petition for certiorari and quashing the portion of the partial summary judgment authorizing immediate execution…
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Abbey v. Abbey (Fla. 3d DCA 2025)
Authorities Cited
- Garcia v. In re Valladares, 99 So. 3d 518 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011)
- Mohler v. Elliott, 332 So. 3d 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022)