Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1980

Winner v. Winner

Winner v. Winner
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided November 25, 1980 · Barkdull, Hendry, Schwartz
390 So. 2d 189; 1980 Fla. App. LEXIS 18106 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Winner v. Winner

Concurring in Part

BARKDULL, Judge,

concurring in part; dissenting in part.

I concur in the affirmance of the award of fees for services rendered in the Circuit Court of Dade County and in the courts of Alabama, as these were proceedings seeking to directly enforce the trial court’s final judgment. However, I dissent from so much of the opinion that approved fees for the Monroe County action, as this was an independent action to set aside a fraudulent conveyance in an attempt to collect a judg*190ment rendered in behalf of the former wife. I think once she elected to take a money judgment she was then in the same position as any other judgment creditor and was not entitled to fees for the bringing of an independent action to set aside an alleged fraudulent conveyance. I don’t think that such a proceeding falls under the provision for “enforcement” under Section 61.16, Florida Statutes. Therefore, I would reverse this part of the order under review.

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

This is the third appeal which appellant husband has brought in connection with matters complained of relative to the dissolution of the marriage of the parties to this cause, 376 So.2d 924.

In this appeal appellant is seeking reversal of an order of the Circuit Court of Dade County, Florida awarding his former wife the sum of $18,000 as and for reasonable attorneys fees due her attorneys, Koeppel, Stark & Newmark for services rendered in an effort to enforce the court’s final judgment of dissolution of marriage. The fee of $18,000 was apportioned as follows: $8,300 for services rendered in case no. 76-27588 in the Circuit Court of Dade County, Florida; $8,000 for services rendered in case no. 79-195CA, in the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida; and $1,700 for services rendered in the Courts of Alabama.

It is appellant’s contention that the trial court erred in its award of each of these fees. We cannot agree.

We have carefully considered appellant’s contentions in the light of the record, briefs and arguments of counsel and have concluded that no reversible error has been demonstrated. Accordingly, the order appealed is affirmed.

Affirmed.

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