Winn v. City of Cocoa

• Decision Date: 19 November 1954
• Parties: Carrie Taylor WINN, Appellant, v. CITY OF COCOA, a Municipal Corporation, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 909

75 So.2d 909

Carrie Taylor WINN, Appellant, v. CITY OF COCOA, a Municipal Corporation, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Florida, Division A.

Nov. 19, 1954.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 13, 1954.

Truett & Watkins, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Robert Godbey, Cocoa, for appellee.

MATHEWS, Justice.

In this case the husband of the defendant in the court below had himself for a client and also attempted to represent his wife. The primary question presented on appeal is the allowance of an attorney's fee, for the reasonable value of the services rendered by the attorney for the appellant in a condemnation suit, by the Cirsuit Judge after the verdict of the jury which awarded no attorney's fee.

The so-called transcript of record does not reveal what took place except by the unimpeached order of the Circuit Judge. The so-called transcript of record violates most of the rules of this Court and probably the appeal should be dismissed for that reason, but due to the fact that one of the defendants, attorney for appellant here, evidently a layman, is attempting to represent himself and his wife, we will exercise our discretion and decide the case from the record presented.

From the order of the Circuit Judge it appears that title to the property was in Carrie Taylor Winn and that on the 14th day of September, 1951, she employed one Robert Godbey as her attorney in the case. Godbey entered upon his duties as such attorney, prepared all necessary pleadings, made appearances before the Court on various hearings, secured many witnesses to be present at the trial to testify on behalf of his client, and performed all of the duties of an attorney, prior to his dismissal by his client immediately preceding the actual trial of the case. In the order allowing attorney's fee the Circuit Judge said:

'That on the 23rd day of October, 1953, the said Robert Godbey, having been dismissed by his client by telegram dated the 20th day of October, 1953, and containing the words, 'We totally disown participation by you during trial October 26.' The said telegram being signed 'Carrie B and T. D. Winn, Jr.', That Carrie B. Winn is the same person as Carrie Taylor Winn, Defendant in this case; the said Robert Godbey was by order of this Court, upon the said October 23, 1953, released as attorney of record for Carrie Taylor Winn, Defendant herein. And the terms of the same order declared a lien upon any recovery by the said Carrie Taylor Winn, for a reasonable attorneys fee for the services of the said Robert Godbey the amount thereof to be fixed by suitable proceedings at an appropriate time by this Court.

'That on October 26, 1953, at the beginning of the trial in this case, the said Robert Godbey was present in the Court room, prepared to resume his duties as attorney for the said Carrie Taylor Winn, should he be requested so to do. That though T. D. Winn, Jr., husband of the said Carrie Taylor Winn, was also present in the Court room at the beginning of the trial of this case, no request was made by any person for the said Robert Godbey to resume his duties as attorney for the said Carrie Taylor Winn, and the said Robert Godbey took no part in the actual trial of this case.

'That no attorney having appeared in behalf of the said Carrie Taylor Winn, the Court, of its own motion, called all the various witnesses who had been secured by the said Robert Godbey, to testify in behalf of the said Carrie Taylor Winn, and the said witnesses did testify in behalf of the said Carrie Taylor Winn.

'That upon an application for allowance of attorneys fees for the said Robert Godbey, heard by this Court on the 22nd day of December, 1953, and being present the said Carrie Taylor Winn, in person, and the said Robert Godbey; the Court did allow the said Robert Godbey a reasonable fee for his services as attorney for the said Carrie Taylor Winn and did give him, the said Robert Godbey, 10 days in which to submit a showing as to the amount of his services and as to what would be a reasonable fee therefore. And the said Robert Godbey having submitted to the Court a showing as to the amount of work done, of the time engaged, supported by statements from L. C. Crofton and J. J. Jackson, attorneys of long practice and good standing at the bar of this Court, that in their opinion, under all the circumstances herein, an allowance of three-fourths (3/4) of Ten percent (10%), or Seven and one-half percent (7 1/2%) of the amount recovered by the said Carrie Taylor Winn, Defendant, would be fair and reasonable. And no showing having yet been made by the said Carrie Taylor Winn as to her opinion of the value of the services of the said Robert Godbey, although she was allowed 10 days from the filing of the showing by the said Robert Godbey, to make any counter, or contrary showing she desired...