Summary
The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed a final judgment awarding attorney’s fees to Cape Marine Services, Inc. The court held that the Rowe factual findings required in attorney’s-fee judgments constitute findings of fact under the amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530(a), and that David Platt’s failure to move for rehearing waived appellate review of the omission.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the failure of an attorney's-fee final judgment to include the factual findings required by Rowe must be raised in a motion for rehearing under the 2023 amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530(a) to preserve the issue for appellate review.
- Whether the trial court erred in awarding an expert witness fee to Appellee's expert.
Holdings
- The factual findings required by Rowe in a final judgment awarding attorney's fees are findings of fact within the meaning of Rule 1.530(a).
- Platt did not preserve his challenge because he did not file a motion for rehearing raising the final judgment's lack of Rowe findings.
- Dunson, Merriman, Gilliland, and Duke have been superseded by the 2023 amendment to Rule 1.530(a) to the extent they permitted appellate review or reversal without a motion for rehearing.
- The court affirmed the expert witness fee award without further discussion.
Key quotations
“We hold that Rowe’s required factual findings in attorney’s fees final judgments are “findings of fact” under Rule 1.530 and determine that our opinions in Dunson, Merriman, Gilliland, and Duke, which all predate the 2023 amendment to Rule 1.530(a), have now been superseded by this amendment.” (at 3)
“As Platt did not file a motion for rehearing challenging the final judgment’s lack of Rowe factual findings, he did not preserve this claim or argument for appellate review.” (at 3)
Factual background
The trial court entered a final judgment awarding Cape Marine Services, Inc. $31,581.42 in attorney's fees. The judgment did not expressly state the number of hours reasonably expended or a reasonable hourly rate as required by Florida Patient's Compensation Fund v. Rowe. Platt did not file a motion for rehearing challenging the omission and also raised a separate challenge to an expert witness fee.
Procedural history
The County Court for Brevard County entered a final judgment awarding attorney's fees to Cape Marine Services, Inc. Platt appealed, arguing that the judgment lacked the factual findings required by Florida Patient's Compensation Fund v. Rowe. Because Platt did not move for rehearing under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530 to challenge the lack of findings, the Fifth District held that the issue was not preserved and affirmed.