Abuse Of Discretion Standard For Fee Awards

50 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• In re First Colonial Corp. OF Am. v. Franz J. Baddock
  544 F.2d 1291· 5th Cir.· 1977-01-10 ·cited 129×
  The court held that the bankruptcy judge and district court abused their discretion by failing to apply proper standards and procedures in awarding attorneys' fees, and that American Benefit had standing to appeal.
• Ursic v. Bethlehem Mines
  719 F.2d 670· 3d Cir.· 1983-10-19 ·cited 58×
  The court held that while an attorney's fee award was permissible in an ERISA case, the district court erred by awarding a bonus over the lodestar without sufficient justification, and the award must be limited to the lodestar amount.
• Lipsig v. Nat'l Student Mktg. Corp.
  663 F.2d 178· D.C. Cir.· 1980-12-05 ·cited 47×
  The court affirmed the district court's procedural rulings, dismissal of the counterclaim, and award of attorneys' fees, remanding for determination of the fee amount.
• Weisenberger v. Huecker
  593 F.2d 49· 6th Cir.· 1979-02-27 ·cited 32×
  The court held that the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 applies to pending cases and allows for attorney's fees for time spent litigating fee awards.
• Fitzharris v. Wolff
  702 F.2d 836· 9th Cir.· 1983-04-01 ·cited 30×
  The court held that an inmate who obtained a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer to a dangerous prison, and whose case later became moot due to parole, was a prevailing party entitled to attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
• Sanchez v. Schwartz
  688 F.2d 503· 7th Cir.· 1982-09-13 ·cited 26×
  The court affirmed the plaintiff's entitlement to attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and the exclusion of fees for administrative delays, but reversed and remanded for further reductions in the expert witness fee and compensable hours.
• Broward Cnty. v. LaPOINTE
  685 So. 2d 889· Fla. 4th DCA· 1996-11-13 ·cited 24×
  In this eminent domain appeal, Broward County challenged the trial court's award of attorney's fees to the LaPointes' counsel in a property condemnation dispute involving environmental contamination issues. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's calculatio
• Lovell v. City OF Kankakee
  783 F.2d 95· 7th Cir.· 1986-02-11 ·cited 20×
  The court held that the district court abused its discretion in denying attorney's fees because the plaintiffs were prevailing parties, as their lawsuit was causally linked to the defendants' stipulation not to enforce the sign ordinance.
• Chambless v. Masters
  815 F.2d 869· 2d Cir.· 1987-04-06 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the district court abused its discretion in denying attorney's fees under ERISA when all five factors weighed in the plaintiff's favor, and that the refusal to amend the judgment regarding pension benefits was premature.
• Webster & Moorefield, P.A. v. City Nat'l Bank OF Miami
  453 So. 2d 441· Fla. 3d DCA· 1984-07-10 ·cited 14×
  Harry Ahlman, appointed voluntary guardian of a 95-year-old woman, appeals an order requiring him to return a $25,000 gift, reimburse the estate for unauthorized property sales, and pay his own attorney's fees in defending removal proceedings. The court affirmed that gifts to gua
• In re Int'l Env't Dynamics, Inc. v. Logan
  718 F.2d 322· 9th Cir.· 1983-10-13 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the appellant has standing to appeal the bankruptcy court's order awarding interim fees, and that the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in making the award.
• Robert M. v. Benton
  671 F.2d 1104· 8th Cir.· 1982-02-24 ·cited 14×
  The court affirmed the district court's award of attorney's fees, finding that fees were recoverable under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and that the amount awarded was not an abuse of discretion.
• In re The Est. OF Morris Simon v. Palmer
  402 So. 2d 26· Fla. 3d DCA· 1981-07-07 ·cited 12×
  An appeals court reversed a circuit court's award of $25,000 in attorney's fees to a curator and personal representative of a deceased person's estate. The court found the fee award was an abuse of discretion where the estate was simple, consisted only of cash, and the award bore
• Flaxman v. Crules R. Cheek
  355 F.2d 672· 9th Cir.· 1966-01-31 ·cited 10×
  The court held that an initial order awarding attorney fees in a bankruptcy case, made without a formal hearing or findings, is an administrative order subject to reconsideration by the referee until the estate is closed.
• Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Gore
  344 So. 3d 1· Fla. 4th DCA· 2022-04-13 ·cited 9×
  The appellate court reversed an attorney's fees award, holding that a non-settling defendant is entitled to a reduction in fees to prevent a double recovery when another defendant has already paid for the same fees. The court affirmed other issues on appeal.
• Bartow HMA, LLC v. Kirkland
  146 So. 3d 1213· Fla. 2d DCA· 2014-09-03 ·cited 8×
  Bartow HMA appeals a trial court's award of $23,761 in attorney's fees as a discovery sanction. The court reversed the $21,252 appellate fee portion because the trial court lacked jurisdiction to award appellate fees without authorization from the appellate court, but affirmed th
• Fontenot v. La. Bd. OF Elementary & Secondary Educ.
  835 F.2d 117· 5th Cir.· 1988-01-07 ·cited 8×
  The court held that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar attorney's fees awards against the state when Congress authorizes them under its Fourteenth Amendment enforcement power, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding fees.
• Behringer v. Lybrand & Morgan
  270 F.2d 670· 10th Cir.· 1959-09-22 ·cited 8×
  The court held that general creditors cannot appeal the allowance of another creditor's claim without following specific procedural requirements, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing attorney fees in bankruptcy.
• KAY v. KAY
  988 So. 2d 1273· Fla. 5th DCA· 2008-08-29 ·cited 6×
  In a dissolution of marriage case, the appellate court reversed the trial court's treatment of the husband's disability insurance benefits as marital property subject to equitable distribution, and reversed an award of attorney's fees to the wife for a continuance filed one day b
• Garth Maag v. Wessler
  944 F.2d 654· 9th Cir.· 1991-09-23 ·cited 6×
  The court held that awarding attorneys' fees to prevailing defendants in § 1983 actions requires a finding that the action was frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation.
• Wyatt v. Cole
  928 F.2d 718· 5th Cir.· 1991-04-17 ·cited 6×
  Monetary damages against private defendants are barred by good faith immunity, and attorneys fees against them are also barred. The state is liable for attorneys fees for its officials' enforcement of an unconstitutional statute, but the fee award calculation requires remand.
• Household Fin. Corp., III v. Williams
  290 So. 3d 508· Fla. 4th DCA· 2020-02-19 ·cited 5×
  A reformation claim cannot be inextricably intertwined with a foreclosure claim for purposes of awarding attorney's fees, and a party seeking fees must allocate fees to the claims on which it prevailed or demonstrate that allocation is infeasible. Additionally, attorney's fees ca
• O'Malley v. Brian Freeman, Esq., & the Freeman Law Firm, P.A.
  241 So. 3d 204· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-04-04 ·cited 4×
  A contingency fee agreement signed only by an incapacitated client's mother is void and cannot be ratified by post-competency communications that lack explicit acknowledgment of the agreement's terms. An attorney without a valid contingency fee agreement may recover on a quantum
• Guardianship of Len Sanders & the Guardian v. Chaplin
  334 So. 3d 723· Fla. 1st DCA· 2022-03-02 ·cited 3×
  This case addresses whether an attorney appointed to represent an alleged incapacitated person is entitled to fees and costs even if their services do not demonstrably "benefit" the ward. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's award, holding that the relevant statute does
• Aquastar Holdings LLC v. Avant Design Grp., Inc.
  421 So. 3d 767· Fla. 3d DCA· 2025-09-17 ·cited 2×
  Where attorney's work on behalf of a successful party is inextricably intertwined with work on behalf of an unsuccessful party and involves a common core of facts, the trial court may award the full amount of attorney's fees without allocating between successful and unsuccessful
• Creative Hardscapes, LLC v. Prawdzik
  397 So. 3d 163· Fla. 6th DCA· 2024-11-08 ·cited 2×
  An involuntary dismissal that does not expressly state "without prejudice" operates as an adjudication on the merits under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(b), thereby entitling a defendant who served a proposal for settlement to attorney's fees under section 768.79.
• Nugent v. Anne-Laure Michelis
  312 So. 3d 954· Fla. 4th DCA· 2021-03-10 ·cited 2×
  A party seeking attorney's fees need not cite the specific statute in the fee motion if the opposing party has actual and fair notice of the grounds for the claim through the complaint, pleadings, final judgment, and conduct during proceedings, particularly where the opposing par
• Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Anderson
  241 So. 3d 221· Fla. 2d DCA· 2018-02-14 ·cited 2×
  A trial court's award of a contingent fee multiplier in an attorneys' fees judgment must include a specific finding regarding whether the relevant market required the multiplier to obtain competent counsel, and reversal is required when such a finding is absent even without a tra
• Ganey v. Garrison
  813 F.2d 650· 4th Cir.· 1987-03-19 ·cited 2×
  The court affirmed the award of attorneys' fees, finding the plaintiff was a prevailing party entitled to fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, but remanded for correction of a potential arithmetical error and to consider fees for the appeal.
• Hechenberger v. Wilken
  786 F.2d 347· 8th Cir.· 1986-03-11 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying attorneys' fees to the appellants due to special circumstances, including their frivolous appeal.
• Gouldy v. Chiasson
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2026-07-22 ·cited 1×
  The trial court properly awarded appellate attorney's fees and costs of $65,662.23 to Chiasson under section 772.11(1), Florida Statutes, because the trial court's section 57.105(1) sanctions finding—affirmed on appeal—constituted an express finding that Gouldy's civil theft clai
• Fla. Recovery Solutions, Inc. v. Westport Recovery Corp.
  420 So. 3d 632· Fla. 3d DCA· 2025-10-01 ·cited 1×
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney's fees under section 57.105 where the claims were frivolous or devoid of merit, and competent substantial evidence supported the reasonableness of the fee amount.
• Breton v. Raud
  422 So. 3d 1176· Fla. 3d DCA· 2025-09-17 ·cited 1×
  A trial court violates due process when it awards relief not requested in a motion or pleading. The court affirmed the award of temporary prospective fees sought in the motion but reversed awards of past incurred fees and fees for contempt proceedings that were not sought and not
• State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Dianya Markovits
  295 So. 3d 355· Fla. 1st DCA· 2020-04-27 ·cited 1×
  This case concerns whether attorney's fees incurred after entitlement has been established are recoverable under Florida's offer of judgment statute. The appellate court held that fees incurred in litigating the amount of fees, after entitlement is determined, are not recoverable
• Stewart v. Stewart
  290 So. 3d 607· Fla. 1st DCA· 2020-02-03 ·cited 1×
  An award of appellate attorney's fees must be supported by written findings regarding the parties' relative financial resources after equitable distribution, the former spouse's need for assistance to obtain competent counsel, and whether the obligor spouse can pay all or part of
• Garcia v. Garcia
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2026-10-23
  A trial court may award attorney's fees based on a spouse's bad faith conduct during litigation, but must provide specific findings regarding the hourly rate, hours expended, and the portion of fees occasioned by the misconduct.
• Irama Valdes v. In re Est. of Andres Jesus Capetillo
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-09-17
  A probate court's award of attorney's fees is reviewed for abuse of discretion, and such an award will be affirmed if the court considered the nature of services rendered, their necessity, and the reasonableness of the charges.
• Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Dameras
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-06-24
  The trial court properly calculated the lodestar amount but erred in applying a 2.5 contingency multiplier without competent substantial evidence that the relevant market required such a multiplier to obtain competent counsel, and erred in awarding costs for non-testifying expert
• Ferguson v. The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-05-20
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting billing records under the business records exception based on an affidavit from the Republic's Attorney General establishing the foundational requirements of section 90.803(6), Florida Statutes. The attorney fee award of $
• DG Auto Grp. Exp., Inc. v. Mendez
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-01-21
  Federal law governs the determination of reasonable attorney's fees in FLSA cases brought in state court, and a fee enhancement above the lodestar is permissible when the defendant's intentional evasion of litigation obligations and court orders causes exceptional delay in the li
• Nova Se. Univ., Inc. v. Garratt- Callahan Co.
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2025-10-15
  Claims against multiple defendants are not inextricably intertwined when they involve different parties, different contractual obligations, different time periods, and different legal theories, even if they share a common factual background. A trial court does not abuse its discr
• Quires v. Copperstone Equestrian Ctr., LLC
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2025-07-18
  A party who prevails on the underlying merits may appeal a post-judgment order denying attorney's fees and costs as a separate, final appealable order that can aggrieve the party even if the liability judgment was favorable. Under FDUTPA's discretionary fee provision (as amended
• Carl Domino, Inc. v. Dixon
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2025-05-21
  A party seeking attorney's fees on multiple claims bears the burden of allocating fees between claims for which fees are awardable and those for which they are not, and must demonstrate that claims are inextricably intertwined by showing both a common core of facts and related le
• E. Winds Consulting, LLC v. Sky Harbour Condo. Ass'n, Inc.
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2025-03-21
  A nonparty purchaser at a foreclosure sale lacks standing to file a motion to vacate the underlying foreclosure judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b), which limits such relief to parties or their legal representatives. The DeStefanos' alternative grounds to vaca
• Izard v. Phiippe Bois
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-07-31
  An order awarding attorney's fees under section 57.105 must include specific factual findings by the trial court supported by substantial competent evidence; a conclusory award without such findings is insufficient and must be reversed.
• Boca View Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Lepselter
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-07-31
  A party's challenge to prevailing party status must be raised on appeal from the order denying the motion for rehearing that addressed the fee entitlement claim, or it is waived; therefore, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider a successive motion on that issue. Paraleg
• Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Gore
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2022-04-13
  Philip Morris appeals a trial court judgment awarding Gore $2,515,086.53 in attorney's fees and costs in an Engle progeny wrongful death action pursuant to a Proposal for Settlement. The central dispute concerns whether Philip Morris is entitled to a setoff against the attorney's
• Fischer v. Fischer
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2021-12-22
  The trial court erred in awarding fees and costs jointly and severally against the trustee and attorney-in-fact where the trustee's claim was dismissed before trial, and erred in taxing costs for expert witnesses who did not testify at trial. Fees and costs must be apportioned be
• Johansson v. Jacquelyn Johansson
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2020-04-01
  When attorney's fees are sought under Florida Statute § 61.16 in a family law enforcement proceeding, the trial court must find that the obligor has the financial ability to pay before awarding fees, and an award is an abuse of discretion if the court finds no such ability exists
• Smith v. Cmta-Iam Pension Tr.
  746 F.2d 583-587· 9th Cir.· 1984-11-02
  The court held that the district court abused its discretion by failing to consider a settlement agreement clause regarding attorney's fees when denying the plaintiff's motion for fees.