Kingston Corp. Group of Florida, Inc. v. Richard Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership
Docket: Nos. 2D11-4878, 2D11-6440
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; November 26, 2013; Florida; State Appellate Court
Appellants Kingston Corporation Group of Florida, Inc. (KCGF), Kingston Group, LLC, Tamiami Hoehne, LLC, and The Source Ministries, Inc. sought review of two final judgments favoring appellee Richard Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership (RKWKP) in supplementary proceedings. The court affirmed the judgments awarding attorney’s fees against KCGF but reversed the awards against the other appellants, remanding for corrected judgments. The case originated in 2006 when KCGF sued RKWKP related to a real estate transaction. RKWKP served a proposal for settlement, which KCGF did not accept. Following a bench trial, RKWKP won and sought attorney’s fees based on the unaccepted proposal. The trial court awarded RKWKP $81,824.59, but KCGF lacked funds to pay. RKWKP then initiated supplementary proceedings, alleging KCGF fraudulently transferred assets to the impleaded parties to evade judgment. A special magistrate concluded the transfers were fraudulent and recommended voiding them, which the trial court adopted, allowing RKWKP access to the assets. In subsequent judgments, the trial court awarded RKWKP attorney’s fees and costs incurred in the supplementary proceedings against the impleaded parties. The court found this improper, stating attorney’s fees can only be awarded against the original judgment debtor (KCGF), consistent with established case law. The court rejected RKWKP's argument that no error occurred, noting the judgments explicitly awarded fees and costs against the impleaded parties, thereby lacking lawful authority for such awards.
RKWKP's attorney's fees and costs from supplementary proceedings are to be paid by KCGF and the Impleaded Parties jointly and severally, as per the magistrate’s recommended order. The trial court awarded RKWKP $48,700.03 in attorney’s fees and costs, specifically recoverable from KCGF, without imposing fees against the Impleaded Parties. However, the judgment allows RKWKP to execute against any assets held by the Impleaded Parties to satisfy this judgment, without limitation to only fraudulently transferred assets from KCGF. This broad execution authority contradicts the legal principle that RKWKP’s recoveries should only come from KCGF's assets in the possession of the Impleaded Parties. Therefore, the court reverses any judgment that suggests attorney’s fees can be claimed from the Impleaded Parties and limits execution to KCGF's assets. The trial court is instructed to issue corrected judgments reflecting these rulings. The appellate decision is affirmed in part and reversed in part, with remand for adjustments. The Hoehne Family Limited Partnership was initially included but later dropped from the case.
