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Longmeier v. Longmeier
Citations: 921 So. 2d 808; 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 2681; 2006 WL 452662Docket: No. 1D05-2632
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; February 26, 2006; Florida; State Appellate Court
An appeal has been filed by the former husband challenging an order that awarded the former wife $7,500 in attorney's fees. The appellate court found merit in the husband's argument that the trial court erred in its award, as it included hours worked by the wife's attorney for which no prior request for attorney's fees had been made. Under Florida Statute § 61.16(1), a request for attorney's fees must be specifically pleaded, and it is an error for the court to grant fees based on unrequested time. The record indicates that the former wife did not seek attorney's fees until she responded to the husband's supplemental petition for modification of custody on December 6, 2004. Consequently, any attorney's fees awarded can only be for work performed after November 16, 2004. It was noted that the wife's attorney worked a total of 46.70 hours on her case, but only 29.30 of those hours were relevant post the date of the fee request. The trial court's award of fees was improperly based on all hours worked, not just those after the request was made. Therefore, the appellate court reversed and remanded the case, directing that the trial court reassess the attorney's fees based solely on the reasonable amount of work performed from November 16, 2004, onward. The decision was supported by judges Webster, Browning, and Polston.