Holloway v. Holloway

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
DAVID D. HOLLOWAY,
Appellant,
v. Case No. 5D17-1709
JOHNA HOLLOWAY,
Appellee.
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Opinion filed July 13, 2018
Appeal from the Circuit Court
for Osceola County,
Diana M. Tennis, Judge.
Susan W. Savard and Jennifer R. Lawson,
of Green Family Law, .P.A, Orlando, for
Appellant.
Julie F. Weinberger and Morgan A.
Weinberger, Kissimmee, for Appellee.
WALLIS, J.
Former husband, David Holloway, appeals from a final order granting his
supplemental petition for modification of alimony and awarding former wife, Johna
Holloway, a portion of her attorney's fees. Former husband raises numerous arguments
attacking the trial court's decision to modify his monthly alimony obligation and to require
him to pay former wife alimony arrears. Finding no error in the trial court's decision to
modify alimony and to award alimony arrears, we affirm as to those points. We reverse,
however, the court's order awarding former wife attorney's fees because that decision is
not supported by the record.
"An award of attorney's fees in a dissolution proceeding depends upon the relative
financial circumstances of the parties." Kouzine v. Kouzine, 44 So. 3d 213, 215 (Fla. 5th
DCA 2010). When considering the relative financial circumstances of the parties, the
court must determine whether one party has a need for such fees and whether the other
party has the ability to pay them. Id. It is error for the trial court to require one party to
pay attorney's fees where both parties are in equal financial positions. Id. at 216.
Here, the evidence established that both parties are in a similar financial position,
and they are equally able to pay their own attorney's fees. Therefore, it was error for the
court to order former husband to pay a portion of former wife's attorney's fees. See id.(finding court abused its discretion in requiring husband to pay one-half of wife's attorney's
fees where parties were in equal financial positions); Price v. Price, 951 So. 2d 55, 59
(Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (requiring husband to pay wife's attorney's fees error where husband
was in no better financial position than wife to pay her fees). Accordingly, we reverse the
trial court's award of attorney's fees to former wife.
AFFIRMED in Part; REVERSED in Part.
SAWAYA and EISNAUGLE, JJ., concur.
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