RAMBLEWOOD EAST CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION INC v. KAYE BENDER REMBAUM (2020)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

RAMBLEWOOD EAST CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida non-profit corporation, Appellant, v. KAYE BENDER REMBAUM, P.L., a Florida professional limited liability company, f/k/a Robert Kay & Associates, P.A., Appellee.

No. 4D19-166

Decided: April 01, 2020

Robert E. Ferencik, Jr. and Laura A. Baker of Ferencik Libanoff Brandt Bustamante & Goldstein, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellant. Gerard S. Collins and Jeffrey D. Green of Kaye Bender Rembaum, P.L., Pompano Beach; Bartosz A. Ostrzenski of Ostrzenski & Striklin, P.A., Boca Raton; and Robin Bresky of the Law Offices of Robin Bresky, Boca Raton for appellee.

Appellant challenges a final judgment entered in favor of the appellee law firm for attorney's fees due under the firm's contract with appellant to provide legal services. Competent substantial evidence supports the amount of the court's award, as well as the court's finding that appellant breached its contract with the firm. Appellant also claims that the court erred in awarding the amount of damages when the firm did not present any expert testimony as to the reasonableness of the fees. However, expert testimony is not necessary to support an award of fees as compensatory damages, where previously incurred attorney's fees are being sought in a separate contract action against a client. Rodriguez v. Altomare, 261 So. 3d 590, 592 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018), cert. den., 2019 WL 2261369 (Fla. May 28, 2019) (“Attorney sought the previously incurred attorney's fees as an element of compensatory damages in his breach of contract action against [c]lient. Accordingly, [a]ttorney was not required to present an independent expert witness to establish the reasonableness of the fees.”). As the judgment was for compensatory damages for breach of contract, no expert was needed.

Affirmed.

Per Curiam.

Warner, Klingensmith and Kuntz, JJ., concur.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network