Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
1.525 Motions For Costs and Attorneys Fees

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. Read More

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. Read More

In this case, a property owner sued a homeowner's association for injunctive and declaratory relief seeking access to a landlocked lot of land, as well as for damages for an alleged tortious interference of the owner's attempt to sell the... Read More

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.” Read More

In this declaratory judgment contract action, the defendant did not initially plead entitlement to attorneys' fees in its answer, but was permitted leave to amend later in the case to add the request. The plaintiff appealed, and the appellate court affirmed, holding that "the trial court did not abuse its discretion by granting . . . leave to amend" because, among other reasons, the request was made prior to final judgment. Read More

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. . . 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). Read More