Braden River Civic Ass'n v. Manatee County
Braden River Civic Ass'n v. Manatee County
Opinion of the Court
Appellants brought suit to set aside the rezoning of two parcels of property in Manatee County to permit a travel trailer and
Section 57.105 provides for the award of reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party when the court finds “that there was a complete absence of a justiciable issue of either law or fact raised by the losing party.” The statutory language has been equated to a finding of frivolousness. Allen v. Estate of Dutton, 384 So.2d 171 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980).
The trial was long and tedious, and many of appellants’ witnesses added little to their case. Yet, appellants did demonstrate that the rezoning was inconsistent with the Manatee County Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and an expert in the field of land use planning testified that the rezoning was incompatible with surrounding uses and did not bear a substantial relationship to the health, safety and welfare of the community. Hence, we cannot say that appellants’ case was totally without merit.
We reverse the award of attorney’s fees.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- BRADEN RIVER CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC., James W. Alspaugh and Helen E. Wilson v. MANATEE COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, H. C. Green and Joe F. Garrott, as Trustees, and Horseshoe Cove Resort, Inc.
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published