Herold v. Hunt, 75--241
| Decision Date | 06 February 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 75--241,75--241 |
| Citation | 327 So.2d 240 |
| Parties | Lloyd HEROLD, P.A., Appellant, v. Patricia Ann HUNT and James S. Hunt, Jr., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Lloyd Herold and Evan I. Fetterman, North Palm Beach, for appellant.
H. T. Maloney, Patterson, Maloney & Shankweiler, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee-James S. Hunt, Jr.
Appellant, a professional association of lawyers, represented the wife (appellee-Patricia Ann Hunt) in a suit for dissolution of marriage and now seeks review of a postjudgment order assessing the wife's attorney's fees against the former husband (appellee-James S. Hunt, Jr.).
Mrs. Hunt filed suit for dissolution of marriage in the Circuit Court of Broward County. Thereafter, she discharged her attorneys and employed appellant to replace them. The terms of appellant's employment were embodied in a written Services Agreement which, while providing that appellant would be paid 'reasonable compensation' for its services, also expressly provided that Mrs. Hunt's obligation to the appellant to pay for services was her direct, personal obligation and was not in any way dependent upon or to be measured by any amount which the court might see fit to award her from her husband.
In due course the final judgment was entered dissolving the marriage, the court retaining jurisdiction to assess the wife's attorney's fees and costs against the husband. Prior to hearing on that matter, Mrs. Hunt discharged appellant as her counsel. Promptly upon being discharged, appellant filed in the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County an independent suit against Mrs. Hunt seeking judgment for the amount appellant alleged was due it for services rendered pursuant to the employment agreement. In connection with that suit, appellant placed in the registry of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County certain personal property belonging to Mrs. Hunt against which appellant claimed a retaining lien.
After appellant filed the independent suit in Palm Beach County, a hearing was held in the instant case on Mrs. Hunt's motion to assess attorney's fees. On the basis of appellant's testimony as to the extent of the services rendered to Mrs. Hunt, both husband and wife presented expert opinion testimony as to the reasonable value of such services. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court announced that the husband should pay to the wife's attorneys the sum of $30,000 to be in addition to the $5,000 theretofore paid appellant by the wife. Some three weeks later a formal written order was entered and it is the specific language of that order which has precipitated this appeal.
The appealed order found that The reasonable value of the services rendered by appellant in representing the wife was $35,000, of which $30,000 was to be paid by the husband to the wife to compensate appellant for legal services in this case. The order also directed the wife to pay to appellant the said sum of $30,000 'which has been determined herein to be the balance due (appellant) for attorney's fees for . . . services in this case, (said sum to be paid) at such time as said law firm tenders to the wife the property retained by said law firm under claim of retaining lien for...
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