A very recent Palm Beach lawsuit involved a Florida attorneys fee ruling from the 4th District Court of Appeals. Anyone involved with Florida business litigation and Palm Beach probate litigation knows the importance of attorneys fees hearings. You may want to read this recent Palm Beach attorneys fee case which was an appeal from a trial in the Main Courthouse, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Florida Attorneys Fees Law
- Florida law provides that each party to a lawsuit pays their own attorney unless there is a Florida statute on attorneys fees or a contract
- Those are the two BIG EXCEPTIONS that can permit someone involved in an inheritance lawsuit or a Florida probate to get your attorneys fees paid from someone else
- Q: do you have a Florida statute or a contract?
- The Florida Probate Code, and the Trust Code provide many statutes to get attorneys fees
Hearings on Attorneys Fees
- Florida law provides for attorneys fees hearings
- You need to prove your case
- Attorneys fees hearings are, in essence, a mini-trial, or a part of the trial
- Are you proving your attorneys fees in the middle of the estate lawsuit or at the end?
- You need to introduce evidence, call witnesses, and prove:
- that you are ENTITLED TO ATTORNEYS FEES
- that your amount of attorneys fees which you want is REASONABLE
- A July 2, 2014 ruling from West Palm Beach’s 4th District Court of Appeal “speaks” to the issue of proving Florida attorneys fees in court
- Attorneys fees must be supported by competent substantial evidence
- There is a unique procedure with special rules and guidelines on an attorneys fee hearing
- Litigating attorneys fees, and entitlement to attorneys fees and the “reasonable” amount of attorneys fees in Florida has become, for good or bad, almost a sub-category of Florida probate and business law.
Here is the link if you want to read the entire 4th District Court of Appeal opinion: http://4dca.org/opinions/July%202014/07-02-14/4D13-915.op.pdf