LOUIS GORDON AND FAITH GORDON, APPELLANTS,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Parents appeal a cost judgment assessed against them in a child dependency and termination of parental rights case. The court affirms the trial court's discretionary award of costs to the guardian ad litem under Florida Statute § 57.041, rejecting the parents' challenge and clarifying that while cost assessment is discretionary rather than mandatory, courts may exercise that discretion to require non-prevailing parents to pay costs.
Trial courts have discretionary authority under § 57.041 to assess costs against non-prevailing parents in child dependency termination cases. The discretionary assessment of costs against parents is permissible provided the discretion is carefully exercised to protect the children's interests.
[1] A prior appellate ruling that a statute requiring cost assessment is not mandatory does not preclude a trial court from exercising discretion to award costs under that st…
[2] A trial court may exercise discretion to award costs in child dependency cases pursuant to section 57.041, Florida Statutes.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“the provisions of section 57.041, Florida Statutes (1993) are not mandatory (contrary to the trial court's conclusion) and reversed that cost judgment.”
Distinguishes the court's prior holding that cost assessment is not mandatory, but clarifies the statute authorizes discretionary assessment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLouis and Faith Gordon's parental rights were terminated in a child dependency proceeding. The guardian ad litem incurred costs and sought reimburseme…
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FLETCHER, Judge.
Louis Gordon and Faith Gordon, the parents, appeal a cost judgment entered against them in favor of the prevailing party (the guardian ad litem) in a child dependency termination of parental rights case. We affirm the cost judgment.
This matter was before us previously on the issue of whether section 57.041, Florida Statutes (1993) requires the trial court to assess costs in such cases. Gordon v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 637 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994). In our prior opinion, we determined that the provisions of section 57.041, Florida Statutes (1993) are not mandatory (contrary to the trial court’s conclusion) and reversed that cost judgment.
The trial court then promptly determined that section 57.041 authorized it to award costs in child dependency cases in the exercise of that court’s discretion (an issue we had not reached in our earlier decision). Exercising its presumed discretion, the trial court assessed costs against the' parents, in favor of the guardian ad litem.1
The taxation of costs in juvenile proceedings at the discretion of the trial court pursuant to section 57.041 has been upheld by the Fifth District Court of Appeal. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. A.F., 528 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). In that case, the costs were assessed against the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, but we discern no difference in exercising that discretion to tax costs against the parents where they are not the prevailing party, as long as the discretion is carefully exercised to protect the children.2
In that regard, we note that the cost judgment was recorded in the public records, thus revealing the names of all the children involved and the existence of the termination proceedings. We suggest to the trial court that, in matters such as this, a method be devised to keep such information from being made public, yet provide the prevailing party with the ability to enforce the cost judgment.
The trial court’s cost judgment entered pursuant to section 57.041, in that court’s discretion, against the parents and in favor of the guardian ad litem in this child dependency termination of parental rights case is affirmed.
. The cost judgment actually directs payment to the attorney for the guardian ad litem, Karen A. Gievers, as she had expended her own funds for the costs.
. Indeed, section 415.508(2), Florida Statutes (1993) states the legislative policy:
“In those cases in which the parents are financially able, the parent or parents of the child shall reimburse the court, in part or in whole, for the cost of provision of guardian ad litem services.”
Our decision today furthers that policy.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Cited By
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W.S.M., JR. v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 692 So. 2d 246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)…County, 409 So. 2d 1069 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). Both the Fifth District in Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. A.F., 528 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) and the Third District in Gordon v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 674 So. 2d 840, 841 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)(“taxation of costs in juvenile proceedings [is] at the discretion of the trial court pursuant to see [*248] tion 57.041”) and Gordon v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 687 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) have…
Authorities Cited
- Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. A.F., 528 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)
- Gordon v. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs. & Dependent Child., 637 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)