Snider v. Snider, s. 79-161
Decision Date | 25 September 1979 |
Docket Number | Nos. 79-161,79-908,s. 79-161 |
Citation | 375 So.2d 591 |
Parties | Wilbur M. SNIDER, Appellant, v. Evelyn SNIDER, Appellee. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Heller & Kaplan, Miami, for appellant.
Frates, Floyd, Pearson, Stewart, Richman & Greer and Phillip E. Walker and Robert L. Floyd, Miami, for appellee.
Before HENDRY, KEHOE and SCHWARTZ, JJ.
This is a consolidated appeal from an order on the attorneys' fee in an action for dissolution of marriage; the appellant/husband contests both the finding of reasonableness of the fee and the requirement that he pay one-half of the fee.
The appealed order recites in pertinent part:
Appellant's charge that the court-awarded fee is unreasonable is based solely upon the "unconscionability" of the hourly rate. However, the hourly rate computation is merely one of the many elements considered in determining the amount to be awarded for attorneys' fees pursuant to a motion made following a dissolution proceeding. Of course, expert witness testimony is necessary to prove the amount. See Nivens v. Nivens, 312 So.2d 201 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). The underlying rationale for the requirement of expert witness testimony is aptly stated in Lyle v. Lyle, 167 So.2d 256, 257 (Fla.2d DCA 1964):
The well-qualified expert witnesses who testified in behalf of the appellee's position placed the range for a "reasonable" fee for professional services rendered in the cause to be between $250,000 and $325,000. And a review of the record reveals that the appellant's expert witness failed to present sufficient testimony to contradict the figures advanced. Grounded on the fact that the husband failed to present the required evidence to counter the testimony offered by the wife's expert witnesses on the issue of attorney's fees, the appellate court in Lee v. Lee, 262 So.2d 6 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972) affirmed the trial...
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