Thursday, June 18, 2009

Attorney Fees Awarded After Plaintiff Stopped Pursuing Action

In Frazier v. Dreyfus (4D08-1619), the Fourth District affirmed the award of attorneys fees to the prevailing party. The trial court abated the action, pending arbitration. The plaintiff never instituted an arbitration action and the trial court ultimately dismissed. After the dismissal, the defendant moved for attorneys fees and the court granted the motion.

The court held:

We affirm the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees based on Alhambra Homeowners Ass’n v. Asad, 943 So.2d 316 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)...Applying Alhambra, we agree that regardless of whether or not the buyers ever instituted arbitration proceedings in Costa Rica or otherwise decided not to pursue their claims, the seller prevailed in the action when the case was dismissed. Although the buyers assert that such an award is “unjust” based upon the allegations of the third amended complaint, those allegations have never been subjected to any requirements of proof.

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