Family Law Case Updates – September 2012

Appeals:

Arnold v. Whitley, 37 FLW D2254 (Fla. 5^th DCA 2012).  Final judgment affirmed as no transcript was submitted and there were no errors on the face of the judgment.

Attorney’s Fees:

Fernandez v. Crespo, 37 FLW D2118 (Fla. 3^rd DCA 2012).  Trial court reversed when denying fees with a prevailing party clause because they were not pled.  In this case, opposing counsel did not object to a clearly asserted claim of fees.

Shawfrank v. Shawfrank, 37 FLW D2155 (Fla. 1^st DCA 2012).  Trial court reversed for awarding $68K to former wife in attorney’s fees because former husband’s petition had no merit.  Petition had some merit.

Domestic Violence:

Morris v. Mascia, 37 FLW D2170 (Fla. 5^th DCA 2012).  Injunction against domestic violence reversed because parties did not live together and petitioner lacked standing.

Young v. Young, 37 FLW D2172 (Fla. 1^st DCA 2012).  Domestic violence injunction reversed.  Actions of changing husband’s passwords, stealing emails and using them for litigation did not constitute cyber stalking as there was no communication.

Equitable Distribution:

Frenzke v. Jacobs, 37 FLW D2217 (Fla. 5^th DCA 2012).  Final judgment that failed to address wife’s IRA she claimed was non marital reversed.  Non compliance with 61.075(3)(a) requires reversal.

Imputation:

Hoffman v. Hoffman, 37 FLW D2249 (Fla. 2^nd DCA 2012).  Trial court reversed for imputing $30,000 income per year to Former Husband who teaches in China and only makes $923 per month and had an extreme low cost of living.  No evidence to support imputation.

Bishop v. DOR, 37 FLW D2080 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2012).  Trial court reversed for imputing income for purposes of retroactive determination.  Further, record did not support imputation.

Modification:

Langdon v. Langdon, 37 FLW D2061 (Fla. 1^st DCA 2012).  Order granting additional time sharing reversed because husband’s cancer and deteriorating health was considered at time of final judgment.  Therefore, it is not a change of circumstances.

Carey v. Batiste, 37 FLW D2081 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2012).  Trial court reversed for refusing to consider granting former husband extended vacation timesharing when he sought to modify primary residence.  Notice of change of custody is sought is sufficient to put parties on notice court may modify timesharing.

Procedure:

Mercer v. Mercer, 37 FLW D2139 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2012).  Trial court affirmed for not requiring proposed judgment be served on parties whose pleadings were stricken.  Rule 12.080(c) provides no service need to be made on parties whom a default has been entered.