{"id":1982,"date":"2017-09-26T07:42:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T07:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bresky-merger.local.com\/posts\/the-law-offices-of-robin-bresky-serves-as-expert-attorneys-fee-witness-for-homeowners-who-prevailed-in-appeal-against-hoa\/"},"modified":"2017-09-26T07:42:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T07:42:53","slug":"the-law-offices-of-robin-bresky-serves-as-expert-attorneys-fee-witness-for-homeowners-who-prevailed-in-appeal-against-hoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ssrga.com\/appellate\/the-law-offices-of-robin-bresky-serves-as-expert-attorneys-fee-witness-for-homeowners-who-prevailed-in-appeal-against-hoa\/","title":{"rendered":"Bresky Law Serves as Expert Attorney\u2019s Fee Witness for Homeowners Who Prevailed in Appeal Against HOA"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 20, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

Appellate attorney Jonathan Mann of Bresky Law recently served as an expert attorney\u2019s fee witness on behalf of homeowners who prevailed in an appeal brought by their homeowner\u2019s association (\u201cHOA\u201d).<\/p>\n

The homeowners prevailed at the county court level after a particularly long and drawn-out legal dispute regarding assessments. The homeowners also obtained a final judgment awarding them attorney\u2019s fees pursuant to section 720.305(1), Florida Statutes. The HOA appealed the award of attorney\u2019s fees to the circuit court sitting in its appellate capacity, raising several issues that it claimed required reversal. The homeowners\u2019 attorney was forced to file two answer briefs due to procedural irregularities that occurred in the HOA\u2019s handling of the appeal. The circuit court eventually affirmed the county court\u2019s order awarding attorney\u2019s fees, and also granted the homeowners entitlement to their attorney\u2019s fees incurred in the appeal.<\/p>\n

Pursuant to the circuit court\u2019s order, the homeowners\u2019 attorney filed a motion in the county court seeking to recover their attorney\u2019s fees incurred on appeal. The county court set a hearing and directed the parties to perform specific requirements in preparation for the hearing. Jonathan Mann, a board certified appellate specialist, served as the expert fee witness on behalf of the homeowners. Mann performed a thorough review of the billing entries by the homeowners\u2019 attorney for the appeal. Mann then prepared a detailed affidavit setting forth his opinion as to the homeowners\u2019 reasonable attorney\u2019s fees, and conferred with the HOA\u2019s expert fee witness as directed in the county court\u2019s order. The parties were ultimately able to reach a settlement of the attorney\u2019s fee issue prior to the hearing.<\/p>\n

A prevailing party to litigation may be entitled to recover attorney\u2019s fees from the other party, generally where authorized by a contract or statute. However, the parties often do not agree on the amount of the attorney\u2019s fees, so litigation regarding a reasonable amount of attorney\u2019s fees is common. In addition to its own extensive appellate practice, Bresky Law makes the experience of its lawyers available to assist other practitioners by serving in the capacity of expert fee witnesses in disputes regarding appellate attorney\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n