Beyond Statute, Rule, and Contract: Equity as a Basis for Awarding Attorneys’ Fees

In Florida, attorneys’ fees can only be awarded if there is a specific law, rule, or contract that allows it. In some cases, like probate, guardianship, trust, and family courts, attorneys’ fees can be awarded to make things fair for everyone involved. There are also three other reasons that attorneys’ fees can be awarded: if someone has been unfair, if an attorney has helped create a common fund, or if someone has worked to protect assets in a trust. So, lawyers who work in these types of courts should know about these reasons for getting attorneys’ fees. The Florida Supreme Court made a decision in 1998 called Bitterman v. Bitterman that allows courts to make someone pay the legal fees of the other party if they do something really bad during a case, like acting in bad faith or being really unfair. They used this rule to make one person in a case about an estate pay the other person’s lawyers because they were being really difficult for no good reason. Later, in 2002, the court said that this rule also applies to lawyers who do bad things in a case. But they said that courts should only use this power in rare cases and they have to be really sure that the lawyer did something really bad on purpose. The point of this rule is to make sure that people don’t do sneaky or unfair things during a legal case, and it can help make things go more smoothly. The common fund doctrine allows courts to award attorneys’ fees in cases where a legal team has worked to create a fund that benefits multiple parties. This can include situations where assets are restored to an estate or life insurance proceeds are obtained for the benefit of beneficiaries. To receive fees under this doctrine, an attorney must show that their work directly benefited the parties involved. This doctrine has been reduced to a set of requirements that must be met in order for fees to be awarded. In some lawsuits, the winning side can ask the other party to pay for their lawyer’s fees. This is because the winning side should not have to pay for the whole lawsuit by themselves while the other side gets the benefits. In cases involving trust funds, the person who successfully sues to protect the funds can also ask for their lawyer’s fees to be paid. In Florida, each party usually pays their own lawyer’s fees, but in certain cases, the winning party can ask the other side to pay. This helps make sure that people don’t try to cheat the system and encourages people to do what’s fair. This is a list of court cases and laws in Florida related to attorneys’ fees. It includes some specific cases where attorneys’ fees were awarded and references to the relevant state statutes. It also includes some general information on the topic of attorneys’ fees in Florida.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/beyond-statute-rule-and-contract-equity-as-a-basis-for-awarding-attorneys-fees/