Any party seeking a judgment taxing costs, attorneys’ fees, or both shall serve a motion no later than 30 days after filing of the judgment, including a judgment of dismissal, or the service of a notice of voluntary dismissal, which judgment or notice concludes the action as to that party.
1.525 Motions For Costs and Attorneys Fees
6 Cases for Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.525 Motions For Costs and Attorneys Fees
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“A claim for attorneys’ fees must be pleaded, whether based on contract or statute.” citing BMR Funding, LLC v. DDR Corp., 67 So. 3d 1137, 1140 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) (citing Stockman v. Downs, 573 So. 2d 835, 837 (Fla. 1991)). See also Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.525 (“Additionally, a timely motion is required.”)
In this case, appellee received an attorneys’ fee judgment based upon a sanction award for discovery violations by appellants. The award, however, reflected an hourly rate that exceeded the rate actually billed to the client. The court found this to be error and reversed.
In this non-compete case, an employer obtained an injunction against its former employee and her new employer for aiding and abetting a breach of a restrictive covenant. The trial court taxed attorneys’ fees against the new employer under Section 542.335(1)(k), Fla. Stat. The appellate court reversed, holding that the statute authorized a fee award only against the party to the restrictive covenant (the former employee). Because there was no independent contractual or statutory basis to award fees against the new employer, the fee award was invalid.
In this homeowner association dispute, the association obtained a stay from arbitration and petitioned the circuit court for a temporary injunction seeking access to a unit to make repairs. The court denied the petition because the association had not established an “emergency” basis for relief. The unit owner filed a motion for attorneys’ fees claiming that he was the prevailing party in the action. The trial court granted the motion, but the appellate court reversed because the order was merely interlocutory and “did not end the litigation between the parties.”
In this attorneys’ fees case, Ramle Int’l prevailed at trial and was awarded attorneys’ fees as part of the judgment. The trial court reserved jurisdiction as to the amount of fees and Ramle waited eleven months to file its motion to determine the amount of attorneys’ fees owed.
After Ramle moved for a determination of fees, The Greens Condo filed a brief in opposition arguing that Ramle waived its right to seek attorneys’ fees by failing to file its motion within 30 days of judgment, which they argued was required by Rule 1.525, Fla. R. Civ. Pro. The trial court then denied Ramle’s fee motion as untimely and The Greens Condo appealed.
The Third DCA reversed the trial court, finding that the time limit in Rule 1.525 only applied to the determination of entitlement to fees, not in cases where the Court has already established entitlement. Citing Amerus Life Ins. Co. v. Lait, 2 So.3d 203, 207 (Fla. 2009).
. . . the trial court denied the award of fees because it found that the entirety of the prevailing party’s attorneys’ fees were paid by a third party. According to the trial court, this meant that the prevailing party had no fees to recover. The 1st DCA reversed finding that the plain intent of the agreement was that the “loser pays, and the winner does not.” According to the 1st DCA, denying the award of attorneys’ fees because the prevailing party had to have a third party cover his fees would result in an inequitable windfall for the losing party. As such, the prevailing party was entitled to recover attorneys’ fees paid by the third party.