Understanding Attorney Fees in Florida Contracts

– Attorneys’ fees can only be recovered under Florida law if there is a statutory or contractual basis for doing so.
– The case Trytek v. Gale Industries, Inc., 3 So. 3d 1194 (Fla. 2009) highlights the importance of having a contractual right to recover attorneys’ fees.
– To improve the chances of recovering all attorneys’ fees in litigation, it is suggested to include clear and comprehensive language in contracts. 1. Florida courts use the “significant issues” test to determine the prevailing party for attorney fees, instead of the “net judgment” rule.
2. Even with a contractual prevailing party attorney fee provision, a court may find that there is no prevailing party.
3. One Florida court held that a contractual provision defining “prevailing party” violates public policy and is unenforceable.
4. A way to avoid uncertainty about the prevailing party is to draft the fee provision without the phrase “prevailing party” and simply provide for fees if the party needs to enforce or collect on the agreement or if the other party breaches the agreement.
5. The prevailing party may be able to recover fees for litigating the amount of fees owed by the non-prevailing party if the contractual attorney fee provision allows for fees for “any litigation”.

https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2014/04/recovery-attorneys-fees-florida-contract/