Wolfe v. Nazaire, 97-3795
| Decision Date | 22 July 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-3795,97-3795 |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly D1708 Tricia WOLFE, Appellant, v. Elizabeth NAZAIRE, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Manuel A. Fernandez, Miami, for appellant.
Denise A. Gunn of Esler & Lindie, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellee.
Tricia Wolfe, plaintiff in a negligence action that resulted in a defense verdict, timely appealed the trial court's order awarding the defendant, Elizabeth Nazaire, $7,500 in attorney's fees. The contract between Nazaire and her attorney provided for a fee to be based on an hourly rate of $85 or whatever may be awarded by the trial court, whichever is higher. Appellant argued that the fee could not exceed a ceiling of $4,318 based on 50.8 hours times the $85 agreed. In Kaufman v. MacDonald, 557 So.2d 572, 573 (Fla.1990), the Florida Supreme Court, responding to a certified question from this court, approved an attorney's fee that was higher than the contingent fee set out in the contract where the contract provided that the attorney's compensation would be either a specific percentage of the recovery or the amount awarded by the court under the prevailing party statute, whichever yielded the higher fee. There is no logical way to distinguish the instant case. The only difference is that an hourly rate is utilized instead of a contingency as the alternative basis. The trial court did not err in its determination that it was not bound by the "cap."
Appellant asserts correctly that the trial court erred in failing to set out in the order the hours reasonably expended and the reasonable rate to be applied to those hours. See Kelly v. Tworoger, 705 So.2d 670, 672 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). Accordingly, the case is reversed and remanded for the trial court to determine the amount of attorney's fees to be awarded after making the required findings.
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First Baptist Church of Cape Coral, Fla., Inc. v. Compass Constr., Inc.
...an excessive fee, which was the possible harm envisioned in Rowe ”). The Fourth District recognized this in Wolfe v. Nazaire, 713 So.2d 1108, 1108 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)( Wolfe I ), where it relied on our decision in Kaufman, 557 So.2d 572, to recognize the validity of an alternative fee recov......
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Wolfe v. Nazaire
...from an order taxing attorney's fees in favor of appellee, Elizabeth Nazaire, following this court's mandate in Wolfe v. Nazaire, 713 So.2d 1108 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (Wolfe I). We hold that the trial court abused its discretion in enhancing the fee it awarded where it failed to state the gro......
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Zucker v. Zucker
...after making the required findings, with leave to enter the same award if the Rowe factors justify the amount. See Wolfe v. Nazaire, —713 So.2d 1108, 1109 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).2 Finally, appellee has failed to demonstrate reversible error or an abuse of discretion in the points raised on AFF......