Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Procedure for Seeking Attorney’s Fees for Original Proceedings

Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Procedure for Seeking Attorney’s Fees for Original Proceedings There has been some confusion about when and how a party must seek prevailing-party attorney’s fees for an original proceeding in an appellate court under Rule 9.100, including petitions for writs of certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, habeas corpus, quo warranto, and “all writs.” Until...

Fourth DCA: Florida Courts Lack Jurisdiction to Order Debtor to Turn Over Property Located Outside of Florida to Satisfy Judgment Debt

Fourth DCA: Florida Courts Lack Jurisdiction to Order Debtor to Turn Over Property Located Outside of Florida to Satisfy Judgment Debt Harry Sargeant III, Mustafa Abu-Naba’a, and International Oil Trading Co., LLC v. Mohammed Anwar Fari Al-Saleh, Case No. 4D13-1447 The Fourth District Court of Appeal (“Fourth DCA”) recently decided an important case regarding the power...

Thinking of Handling Your Appeal Pro Se?

Thinking of Handling Your Appeal Pro Se? If you have lost a trial-level case or received an unfavorable interlocutory ruling, it is to your advantage to hire an appellate lawyer. Sometimes we see individuals decide to handle an appeal on their own (“pro se”), which can be complex and difficult for an individual who is...

Take Notice: Fourth DCA Reverses Summary Judgment of Foreclosure Where Homeowner Claimed Bank Failed to Provide Notice

Finnegan v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., 4D11-939 Deutsche Bank filed a mortgage foreclosure action alleging that Finnegan had failed to make payments on the promissory note. Deutsche Bank claimed that all conditions precedent to acceleration of the note, and the foreclosure action, had occurred. The mortgage document specified as a condition precedent that Deutsche...

Specificity Required: Fourth DCA Holds Modification of Custody Was Not a Condition Precedent to Modification of Alimony Under Marital Settlement Agreement

Cook v. Cook, 4D11-2561 The parties were married for nineteen years and had four children. They filed for dissolution of marriage, and their marriage was later dissolved by a final judgment that incorporated a marital settlement agreement (“MSA”). The MSA set a specific child support obligation for the former husband. The MSA also set a...

Bresky Law Obtains Reversal of Order Denying Wife’s Attorney’s Fees and Attributing Wife Depleted Marital Assets

Goldstein v. Goldstein Case No. 4D10-3081 We represented a former wife in an appeal from an amended final judgment of dissolution of marriage. The trial court had denied our client her attorney’s fees and costs without making any findings as to our client’s need and the former husband’s ability to pay. Additionally, in the equitable distribution...

Bresky Law Obtains Ruling Dispensing With Evidentiary Hearing Upon Remand Following Appellate Win

Bell v. Bell, 502007DR002692XXXXSB Case No. 4D10-5122 This was a divorce case with several contested issues regarding the parties’ marital and non-marital assets. Our client, the former wife, appealed the final judgment of dissolution of marriage. The former husband cross-appealed. Our client’s main issues were (1) the trial court’s failure to award her half of the...

Law Office of Robin Bresky Obtains Reversal Where The Trial Court Excluded Stocks As Marital Income, Failed To Identify Marital Property In Jamaica, and Abused Its Discretion In The Parenting Plan

Preudhomme v. Bailey Case No. 4D10-3262 Our firm challenged the trial court’s final judgment on behalf of a former wife claiming that the lower court erred in dividing the assets, calculating income of the husband, awarding an inadequate amount of alimony, calculating child support payable by the wife, and including overly restrictive parenting provisions. The case...

Bresky Law Obtains Reversal of Child Support Order to Award Mother Her Child’s Uncovered Medical Expenses

Judkins v. Dep’t of Revenue and Jose Briceno Case No. 4D10-4579 We represented a mother in her appeal from the Department of Revenue’s child support order. The mother had sought an order requiring the father of her child to pay child support. Specifically, the mother’s application for child support enforcement sought financial contribution from the father...

Fourth DCA Reverses Order of Contempt

Parris v. Silveira and Parris Case No. 4D11-3006 Angelica Parris gave birth to a child while married to Joseph Parris. Angelica later filed for divorce, representing in her petition for dissolution that there were no minor children of the marriage. The trial court entered a final judgment of dissolution of marriage. Silveira later filed a paternity...