Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What is vexatious litigation in a Florida family law case? “Vexatious” is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as “lacking a reasonable or probable cause or excuse, and can include conduct that is harassing or annoying.” So when someone accuses a party to a divorce case, for example, of being vexatious, it means a party is accused of filing motions or taking other actions in the case for the purpose of harassment and/or delay. A party who is found by a court to be vexatious can be ordered to pay attorney’s fees to the other party. This was an issue in the case Burr v. Ospino, 3D23-1207 (Fla. 3d DCA October 2, 2024).
This appellate opinion lacks background information, but it appears the appellant challenged an order which denied him fees from the opposing party for alleged vexatious litigation. The opinion affirmed the lower court’s order, citing “See Alarcon v. Dagen, 389 So. 3d 611, 614 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) (holding mother’s conduct fell short of vexatious conduct which would justify an award of fees); Hallac v. Hallac, 88 So. 3d 253, 260 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (‘Because the primary factors under section 61.16 require need and ability to pay, the award of attorney’s fees against the wife and in favor of the husband cannot be justified pursuant to the statutory authority. Instead, the award must be authorized under the court’s inherent authority to prevent vexatious litigation. This case, however, does not provide the type of inequitable conduct present in . . . the very rare cases where vexatious litigation is present.’).”
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