Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1982

Earnest v. Southeastern Fidelity Insurance Co.

Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided December 7, 1982 · Jorgenson, Pearson, Schwartz

422 So. 2d 1092; 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 21794 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Cases that cite this one

3 later published cases cite this decision.

CFI Sales & Marketing, Ltd. v. Hotel Management Services, Inc. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2001)
Moore v. Gillett (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2012)
Larsen v. Larsen (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1983)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

SCHWARTZ, Judge.

This case makes its fourth appearance before us.1 The last time, Earnest v. Southeastern Fidelity Ins. Co., 407 So.2d 995 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), it was remanded for the assessment of fees to be granted the insured’s attorney. After a hearing at which the only expert testimony was that *1093an appropriate award was between $10,000 and $12,000, the trial judge set the fee at $4,000. Ms. Earnest complains that the amount is inadequate. We agree and again reverse on the ground that the order is unsupported by the record and therefore constitutes a clear abuse of discretion. Biscayne Roofing Co. v. Palmetto Fairway Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 418 So.2d 1109 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); March v. March, 395 So.2d 200 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Machion Terrazzo, Inc. v. Altman, 372 So.2d 512 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). After remand, the trial court may set the fee on the basis of the previous hearing or, in its discretion, take additional testimony.

. Southeastern Fidelity Ins. Co. v. Earnest, 378 So.2d 787 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Southeastern Fidelity Ins. Co. v. Earnest, 395 So.2d 230 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Earnest v. Southeastern Fidelity Ins. Co., 407 So.2d 995 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981).

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.