Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity
Can attorneys’ fees be awarded in a Florida paternity case? The short answer is yes. The parties may agree otherwise, but there are limits to how they can agree. This is highlighted in the case Nishman v. Stein, 2D19-697 (Fla. 2d DCA April 17, 2020).
The parties were never married, although the mother filed a petition for dissolution of marriage based on the parties’ alleged common law marriage from another state. The father responded by filing a petition for paternity and moving to dismiss the divorce petition. The parties eventually entered a settlement agreement which in pertinent part stated:
E. SETTLEMENT OF PENDING DISSOLUTION ACTION: The Parents agree that [the mother] shall execute a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice regarding her pending Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, which shall be delivered to Rich's counsel to hold in trust for filing immediately upon execution of this Agreement and payment . . . Upon receipt of payment, [the mother] forever waives any and all claims for equitable distribution (including but not limited to any and all claims to the Aralia Way residence, or the Redington Shores residence other than her right to temporarily reside in the Redington Shores residence as set forth in paragraph G below), alimony (of any form or type), attorney's fees or any other possible claim associated with her relationship with [the father], except for timesharing, parenting plan and child support matters as such claims to which are preserved as more specifically set forth below.
Thereafter litigation ensued regarding the parenting plan and the mother filed a motion for temporary attorneys’ fees and costs. Based on the aforementioned clause of their agreement, the father argued the mother waived entitlement to attorneys’ fees and costs. The trial court found the clause to be ambiguous, but nonetheless concluded the mother had not waived entitlement to fees and costs based on the language of the clause. The father appealed.
The appellate court agreed with the trial court’s conclusion, but not its finding that the clause was ambiguous. On the contrary, the appellate court found the clause to unambiguously mean the mother waived all claims except those associated with the parenting plan, time-sharing and child support. The court held “Accordingly, while we find that a spouse's claim for temporary attorney's fees may not be contracted away or waived prior to final judgment in a paternity action, we also find that, based upon the basic principles of contract interpretation, the subject waiver is clear and unambiguous that the waiver does not apply to timesharing, parenting plan, and child support matters. The trial court erred in holding otherwise. However, because the trial court came to the correct conclusion that there was no waiver, we affirm under the ‘tipsy coachman doctrine.’ See, e.g., Robertson v. State, 829 So. 2d 901, 906 (Fla. 2002) (noting that the doctrine allows an appellate court to affirm a trial court's decision that reaches the correct result for the wrong reasons, as long as there is support in the record for reaching the judgment).”
Florida family law aims to “even the playing field”, so-to-speak, by allowing a party to request payment of attorneys’ fees by the other party if there is a huge income disparity. Discover what options may be available to you in your Florida paternity case by having a consultation with a Miami paternity lawyer.