Maulden v. Corbin, 88-994
| Decision Date | 20 January 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-994,88-994 |
| Citation | 537 So.2d 1085,14 Fla. L. Weekly 243 |
| Parties | 14 Fla. L. Weekly 243 Sandra M. MAULDEN, Appellant, v. Bill A. CORBIN, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Jeffrey P. Whitton, Panama City, for appellant.
Edwin A. Green, II, Tallahassee, for appellee.
Sandra Maulden appeals an order awarding attorney fees and costs to Bill Corbin and denying her request for attorney fees for the successful defense of a counterclaim. She asserts that Corbin's fee claim should have been apportioned and only that portion relating to his successful claim should have been awarded, that Corbin was not entitled to an attorney fee for representing himself, that she should have been awarded fees for her successful defense of the worthless check counterclaim, and that the cost award is not supported by competent substantial evidence. We affirm the cost award, but reverse the trial court's rulings on the claims for attorney fees, and remand with instructions.
Maulden had retained Corbin, an attorney, to represent her in divorce proceedings, but they disagreed on acceptance of the husband's settlement offer. Maulden retained another attorney, and thereafter signed the settlement agreement.
After negotiating with Corbin regarding his claim for attorney fees, Maulden gave him a $10,000 check in settlement of the matter, but she subsequently stopped payment on the check and demanded an itemized statement of his hours, costs and expenses. Maulden refused to pay the $14,775 attorney fee Corbin claimed was due, and filed a complaint for a declaratory judgment as to the amount of the fee, admitting her obligation to pay Corbin reasonable compensation, but asserting that his demands were exorbitant.
Corbin responded with a four count counterclaim for breach of contract, unpaid wages, worthless check, and "conversion, replevin and treble damages, punitive damages." The trial court awarded Corbin $13,480 for breach of contract plus prejudgment interest, but denied the other counterclaims and reserved jurisdiction to determine the amount of a reasonable attorney fee for Corbin for "legal representation in these proceedings." Both parties sought attorney fees, Corbin based upon his contract and Maulden under section 68.065, Florida Statutes, based upon her successful defense of the worthless check counterclaim.
Corbin represented himself for nearly two years in this proceeding, then engaged an attorney, Ed Green, who obtained the final judgment several months later. Green's affidavit stated that he had spent 67.5 hours on the case; Corbin's affidavit stated that he had spent 100.3 hours on the case. Other attorneys filed affidavits stating that a reasonable fee for Green's services was $7,000 and that a reasonable fee for Corbin's services was $8,000-$10,300. Maulden presented an affidavit of an attorney which stated that a reasonable fee for her attorney's successful defense of the worthless check counterclaim was $10,000.
In its amended final order, the trial court reaffirmed the $13,480 it had awarded Corbin, amended the interest award to $3,572.24, awarded Corbin $15,000 in attorney fees "incurred in this litigation," ordered Maulden to pay Corbin more than $3,500 in costs, and denied Maulden's request for attorney fees.
We note at the outset that originally the sole dispute between the parties was the amount of the attorney fee owed, not Maulden's liability for the fee. This boiled down to a dispute over the amount of time which was reasonably expended by the attorneys and what that time was worth. We find it extraordinary that the determination of the amount of this fee was so immensely complicated that it took more than 160 hours of attorney time and more than $3500 in costs to figure out how to prove the number of hours Corbin expended in the divorce case and his regular hourly fee, and to...
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