Understanding Attorney’s Fees in Florida’s Fraudulent Transfer Cases

– Florida’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“FUFTA”) provides creditors with various remedies, but it does not generally allow recovery for attorney’s fees incurred because of post-judgment collection actions.
– The American rule on attorney’s fees requires parties to compensate their own attorneys, and Florida law follows this rule unless a contract or statute provides otherwise.
– In fraudulent conveyance actions, creditors may potentially have a right to attorney’s fees through FUFTA or the parties’ borrower agreement. – Florida’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (FUFTA) does not provide for attorney’s fees in fraudulent transfer actions.
– However, judgment creditors may be able to recover attorney’s fees through proceedings supplementary, which allows them to bring a cause of action under FUFTA.
– If a judgment creditor can prove a debtor’s transfer was fraudulent in proceedings supplementary, the debtor may be liable for reasonable attorney’s fees. – New York and Texas have laws that grant creditors the right to attorney’s fees. Alaska allows attorney’s fees at the discretion of the court.
– Florida courts generally do not allow attorney’s fees under FUFTA, despite its goal of compensating creditors for fraudulent transfers.
– Borrower agreements often include provisions for the debtor to pay the creditor’s attorney’s fees for post-judgment collection actions.
– However, contractual provisions for attorney’s fees may not be enforceable if the contract is merged into a final judgment, according to Florida case law. – Courts have consistently held that the doctrine of merger does not apply if there is a clear intention by the parties for a contract term to survive termination of the contract.
– Parties can explicitly state in the borrower agreement that the debtor’s obligation to pay the creditor’s attorney’s fees for post-judgment collection will not merge into the judgment, allowing for the recovery of post-judgment fees.
– Florida courts do not generally allow recovery of attorney’s fees under FUFTA, but there may be limited circumstances in which creditors may recover attorney’s fees incurred because of post-judgment collection actions.

https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2017/09/attorneys-fees-available-fraudulent-transfers-florida/