ROBERT R. FRANK, APPELLANT,
v.
MILTON FELLER, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1966-06-21
No. 65-531
Before PEARSON, CARROLL and SWANN, JJ.
188 So. 2d 17 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1966) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Frank appeals a trial court's award of $8,750 in receiver fees in a partnership dispute, contending the fee was excessive and should not have been awarded because the receiver failed to file required reports under Florida Rule 3.20. The appellate court affirmed the fee award, finding substantial competent evidence supported the amount and no abuse of discretion occurred.


Holding

The court affirmed the receiver's fee award, holding that substantial competent evidence supported the amount allowed and no abuse of discretion was shown. The court found that failure to comply with Rule 3.20 did not mandate denial of a receiver's fee, particularly where neither party demanded strict compliance with the rule until the fee hearing.


Key Quotes

“The appellant candidly admits that he can cite no authority for the proposition that the receiver should be denied a fee solely because of an alleged failure to comply with Rule 3.20.”

Establishes that Frank's primary argument lacked legal support and set the tone for the court's rejection of his Rule 3.20 compliance argument.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

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Facts & Procedural History

Two attorneys, Eliot R. Weston and Robert R. Frank, disputed their partnership. Weston sought an accounting and appointment of a receiver to liquidate…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This appeal questions the correctness of the trial court’s award of a fee to a receiver. It is contended on appeal that the fee granted was excessive, and that no fee should have been awarded because the receiver failed to comply with Rule 3.20, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 31 F.S.A., in that he did not file the reports required thereunder.

The main controversy in this cause arose out of a partnership dispute between two attorneys, Eliot R. Weston and Robert R. Frank. The plaintiff below, Weston, sought, inter alia, an accounting and the appointment of a receiver to liquidate and preserve the assets of the partnership. The appellant, Frank, defendant below, seeks to review a final decree assessing a receiver’s fee against both partners in the amount of $8,750. The court appointed receiver in these proceedings, Milton Feller, is the ap-pellee.

There was competent testimony that the case lasted for eight or nine months, and that the receiver expended five hundred *18■four hours in the performance of his duties. A management consultant testified that it was a difficult receivership and that the book value cost of the partnership owned property was $1,000,000, the equity of which was in the neighborhood of $379,000. The consultant also testified that a reasonable fee for the services rendered was $15,000.

There was a dispute as to whether the receiver actually devoted five hundred four hours as reported, since during the same period he was a municipal judge and was maintaining a regular law practice. The receiver’s fee was assessed at $8,750 and an order awarding that amount was entered against both parties to the suit, hut only the appellant has challenged the correctness and amount of the award.

The appellant candidly admits that he can cite no authority for the proposition that the receiver should be denied a fee solely because of an alleged failure to comply with Rule 3.20. The receiver filed a total of eight documents during this period; however, it was claimed that no inventory or periodic reports were ever filed, as required by Rule 3.20. However, it is conceded by the appellant that neither party demanded exact performance or compliance with the rules until the hearing on the question of the fees.

The chancellor had this question before him when determining the reasonableness of the fee. The rule provides for the proper procedure and remedy for its violation, and it was not sought to be invoked by the appellant. We find that there was substantial competent evidence in the record to sustain the amount allowed for fees to the receiver, and that no abuse of discretion has been shown.

The appellee has suggested a procedural point for dismissal of this appeal, hut in view of our determination that it shall be upheld on the merits, it is not necessary to discuss or consider this point.

The judgment is therefore

Affirmed.


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Citator

Cited By

  • …that there was substantial competent evidence in the record to sustain the amount allowed for fees to the receiver and, therefore, we conclude there was no abuse of discretion and the fee awarded was not excessive. See Frank v. Feller, Fla.App.1966, 188 So. 2d 17; Johnson v. Kruglak, Fla.App.1971, 246 So. 2d 617. The court -having determined that the loan in the case sub judice is usurious, the $8,000 award of the attorney’s fees to plaintiff-appellee’s attorney should be reduced to accord with the amount o…
  • Fortini v. de Palma (Fla. 5th DCA 2020)
    …s, the trial court found that it was impossible for Sundeman to do so. As detailed above, that finding is amply supported by record. Former Husband is also hard-pressed to complain when he waited one year to demand an inventory. See Frank v. Feller, 188 So. 2d 17, 18 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966). Next, Former Husband’s argument that Sundeman is not entitled to collect attorney’s fees from Optimum’s assets is unpersuasive. As a general rule, a receiver is entitled to compensation for the protection of the rights of th…
  • Frank v. Feller, 194 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 1966)
    …Certiorari denied without opinion. 188 So. 2d 17.…

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