JEANNE BONNEY, APPELLANT,
v.
JAMES BONNEY, APPELLEE
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Jeanne Bonney appeals the trial court's award of attorney's fees to her brother in connection with a third-party complaint she filed for conversion and unjust enrichment and then dismissed. The court reverses the attorney's fees awards, holding that the applicable statutes do not apply because the third-party complaint was neither a fiduciary duty action nor one where the brother's attorney provided services to the estate.
Section 733.609 is inapplicable because the third-party complaint was not an action for breach of fiduciary duty or challenging a personal representative's powers. Section 733.106(3) does not apply because the brother's attorney did not render services to the estate. Therefore, the attorney's fees awards are reversed.
[1] A third-party complaint filed against a brother for conversion and unjust enrichment regarding funds taken from an aunt's bank account is not an action for breach of fidu…
[2] Attorney's fees are not awardable under section 733.106(3), Florida Statutes, when an attorney's services are rendered in defense against ancillary claims of unjust enric…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Section 733.609 is inapplicable since the third party complaint was not an action "for breach [*703] of fiduciary duty or challenging the exercise of or failure to exercise a personal representative's powers."”
Establishes that section 733.609 does not apply to the third-party complaint at issue
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJeanne Bonney's sister sued to remove Jeanne as co-personal representative of their aunt's estate and sought damages for misappropriation of funds. Je…
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Jeanne Bonney’s sister sued to remove Jeanne as the co-personal representative of their aunt’s estate and also sought damages for the misappropriation of funds.1 Jeanne filed a third party complaint against her brother for conversion and unjust enrichment regarding funds taken from their aunt’s bank account. She later voluntarily dismissed this third party complaint. The trial court awarded the brother attorney’s fees against Jeanne under sections 733.609 and 733.106(3), Florida Statutes (2010). We reverse. Section 733.609 is inapplicable since the third party complaint was not an action “for breach *703of fiduciary duty or challenging the exercise of or failure to exercise a personal representative’s powers.” § 733.609(1), Fla. Stat. (2010). Section 733.106(3) is not implicated because the brother’s attorney did not render “services to an estate” within the meaning of the statute. The trial judge relied on Estate of Lewis, 442 So.2d 290 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), to bring this case under the statute, but Lewis is distinguishable. The thrust of Lewis is that a benefit to the estate can arise when an attorney’s services have the effect of preserving the testamentary intention of the will. No such benefit to the estate arose in this case, where the brother’s attorney was defending against ancillary claims of unjust enrichment. For these reasons, we reverse the awards of attorney’s fees in the two final orders entered on October 6, 2010. We affirm the award of $5,381.25 in taxable costs.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.
GROSS, HAZOURI and CONNER, JJ, concur.
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- P & H Additions, Inc. v. Acosta, 442 So. 2d 290 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- In re Est. OF S. Cyrus Lewis, 442 So. 2d 290 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)