Case Name: MEDIPLEX CONSTRUCTION OF FLORIDA, INC., Appellant, v. Jerome SCHAUB and Jacqueline Schaub, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2003-09-03
Citations: 856 So. 2d 13
Docket Number: No. 4D98-4382
Parties: MEDIPLEX CONSTRUCTION OF FLORIDA, INC., Appellant, v. Jerome SCHAUB and Jacqueline Schaub, Appellees.
Judges: ANDREWS, ROBERT LANCE, Associate Judge, concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 856
Pages: 13–20

Head Matter:
MEDIPLEX CONSTRUCTION OF FLORIDA, INC., Appellant, v. Jerome SCHAUB and Jacqueline Schaub, Appellees.
No. 4D98-4382.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Sept. 3, 2003.
William G. Edwards of Marlow, Connell, Valerius, Abrams, Adler & Newman, Miami, for appellant.
Marsha L. Lyons of Lyons and Farrar, P.A., Tallahassee, for appellees.

Opinion:
POLEN, J.
After having stayed this action pending the resolution of bankruptcy proceedings, we now address the issues raised on appeal and affirm the result reached by the trial court. Mediplex Construction of Florida, Inc. ("Mediplex") timely appeals the trial court's decision to apply a risk multiplier to the attorney's fee award given to plaintiffs, Jerome and Jacqueline Schaub. The Schaubs cross-appeal on two issues — whether the trial court erred in not allowing attorney's fees for the time expended in determining the amount of fees; and whether it abused its discretion in refusing to award fees for time counsel spent on related matters.
We find no abuse of discretion in the court's decision to apply the risk multiplier. Although we ultimately affirm the decision of the trial court, we write to address one of the issues raised on cross-appeal.
After the parties settled the substantive portions of the claims, they spent over a year litigating the amount of attorney's fees. Eventually the court intervened and awarded the Schaubs $113,797 in attorney's fees pursuant to a provision in the contract and section 57.105, Florida Statutes. The Schaubs contend that the court erred in not awarding them attorney's fees for time spent litigating the amount of fees to which they were entitled.
Mediplex argues that under State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 629 So.2d 830 (Fla.1993), the Schaubs are not entitled to "fees for fees." We agree. In Palma, the claim for attorney fees was brought under section 627.428(1), Florida Statutes (1991). That section provided that an insured who prevailed against an insurer in a given suit would be entitled to reasonable fees. Pal-ma held that only the time spent establishing the entitlement to a fee was compensa-ble. It explained that because the time spent litigating the amount of fees under this section inured solely to the attorney's benefit, they could not be considered services rendered in procuring full payment of the judgment. Id. at 833.
In reaching its conclusion, Palma differentiated section 627.428(1) from other statutes whose purposes were to encourage attorneys to represent indigent clients. Palma recognized that, under those statutes, federal courts often awarded fees for litigating the amount of fees. Id. (citing Prandini v. National Tea Co., 585 F.2d 47, 53 (3d Cir.1978)) (awarding fees in a Title VII class action). In contrast, Palma explained that the purpose and language of section 627.428(1) reflected the legislature's intent to discourage insurance companies from contesting valid claims. Pal-ma concluded that "[i]f the scope of section 627.428 is to be expanded to include fees for time spent litigating the amount of attorney's fees, then the Legislature, rather than this Court, is the proper party to do so." Id.
We recognize that in a footnote, and in a concurring opinion by Judge Farmer, this court has previously commented on and called in to question the underlying rationale in Palma. See Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank v. Sandel, 766 So.2d 302 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). However that discussion did not effect the outcome in Sandel as the case was decided on federal legal principles, not state law. Thus, Palma was not applicable. More importantly, Palma is still good law and is controlling. As noted in Judge Farmer's concurring opinion in Sandel, Palma "appears as a matter of Florida law generally to deny such fees for litigating the amount of the fees to be awarded." Id. at 304.
Since Palma was decided, other courts have expanded its holding to bar fees awarded under other statutes for time spent litigating the amount of fees. For example, in Eisman v. Ross, 664 So.2d 1128 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), the third district specifically refused to award such fees under 57.105 because they concluded there was no statutory authority to do so. See also Oruga Corp., Inc. v. AT & T Wireless of Fla., Inc., 712 So.2d 1141, 1145 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)(barring fees for fees under section 768.79(6)(a), Florida Statutes (1995)); Dep't of Transp., State of Fla. v. Robbins and Robbins, Inc., 700 So.2d 782, 785 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (barring fees for fees under sections 73.091 and 73.092, Florida Statutes (1993), in eminent domain proceeding).
The Schaubs rely on Diaz v. SantaFe Healthcare, Inc., 642 So.2d 765 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), in an attempt to limit Palma's holding to section 627.428(1). In Diaz, the first district expressly chose to limit Pal-ma and held that in an action for unpaid wages under Florida Statutes, section 448.08 (1993), the trial court has discretion to award attorney's fees for time spent establishing the amount of fees. Id. at 765. The court reconciled Palma by explaining that, unlike section 627.428(1), one purpose of section 448.08 is to encourage attorneys to represent indigent persons in disputes for unpaid wages. Id. Accordingly, it concluded that awarding fees for time spent litigating the amount of fees, assuming that the time benefitted the client, comported with the purpose behind section 448.08. Id.
The Second District disagreed with Diaz in Nat'l Portland Cement Co. v. Goudie, 718 So.2d 274 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). There the court held that under section 448.08, the trial court may not award fees for time spent establishing the amount of fees according to Palma.
The Schaubs contend that because a different statute was involved in their case, Palma is inapplicable. They also attempt to differentiate Palma on the basis that they, unlike the client in Palma, directly benefitted from the time their counsel spent litigating the amount of attorney's fees. In support of this latter argument, they apparently rely on that portion of their contingency fee agreement that states they shall "recover 60% of the fee awarded to the attorneys, until they are made whole with respect to any fees paid, under their settlement." Although a client may recover a portion of the fees, we do not believe this is the type of case contemplated by the court in Diaz. Certainly we recognize that fees for fees may not always inure to the exclusive benefit of the lawyer, but Palma still applies.
We disagree with the Schaubs' assertion that Palma is limited to section 627.428(1). As demonstrated above, other courts have broadened Palma in barring "fees for fees" based on other statutes. More specifically, in Eisman, the Third District refused to award such fees in the context of section 57.105.
Perhaps, based on dicta in Palma, "fees for fees" may be awarded if authorized by a statute whose purpose was designed to encourage attorneys to represent indigent clients. Section 57.105(7) is not that statute. Rather, as this court has held, the purpose behind section 57.105(7) is to provide mutuality of attorney's fees as a remedy in contract cases. Lanahan Lumber Co. v. McDevitt & Street Co., 611 So.2d 591 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).
We also disagree that the Schaubs' contingency fee agreement with their attorney somehow avoids Palma's application. Mangel v. Bob Dance Dodge, Inc., 739 So.2d 720 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999), is instructive. In that case, the plaintiff prevailed in a lawsuit arising from wrongful acts by the defendant in the sale of a used car. He was awarded, pursuant to his contract with the defendant, prevailing party attorney's fees. He argued that he was also entitled to fees for the time his counsel spent litigating the amount of his fees. He relied on that portion of his fee agreement with his attorney which required him to pay his attorney for any time spent litigating the amount of prevailing party fees. The fifth district, rejecting this argument, held that Palma governed:
Mangel's own fee arrangement with Blau is not determinative of the fees he is entitled to recover as reasonable attorney's fees. The trial court did not err in denying additional fees for the time spent establishing the amount of Mangel's costs and fees.
Id.
Although the Schaubs' contract with their attorney does not clearly attempt to avoid Palma as did the contract in Mangel, their contract is not determinative of their right to recover "fees for fees." Rather, because their basis for fees in the first place lies in their contract with Medi-plex, they must look to specific provisions either in that contract or in section 57.105 that authorize such fees. As such provisions do not exist, the Schaubs cannot avoid Palma under the instant facts.
In conclusion, to paraphrase the supreme court in Palma, if section 57.105 should be broadened to include fees for time spent litigating the amount of attorney's fees, then the legislature, and not this court, should do so.
AFFIRMED.
ANDREWS, ROBERT LANCE, Associate Judge, concurs.
FARMER, C.J., dissents with opinion.