In Charles Ruffenach v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, the Sixth District Court of Appeal held that a trial court does not always need to conduct an evidentiary hearing or receive expert testimony before granting an award of attorneys’ fees. Breaking from over sixty years of precedent established by its sister courts, the Sixth District emphasized that no Florida statute, rule, or Supreme Court decision actually imposes these requirements. The court reasoned that trial judges themselves are highly experienced experts regarding the reasonableness of hourly rates and time expended, making outside expert testimony largely unnecessary unless specific historical facts or contingency multipliers are actively disputed. Despite this landmark ruling, the court ultimately reversed the fee award in the instant case because the prevailing party completely failed to submit records detailing the actual work performed by its attorneys. Recognizing that its decision conflicts with the rulings of every other district court in the state, the Sixth District certified the direct conflict for potential resolution by the Florida Supreme Court.

Insurers litigating within the Sixth District should take immediate note of this paradigm shift, as it presents a major opportunity to dramatically reduce litigation expenses by avoiding the routine costs of retaining fee experts when defending against or securing attorney fee awards.

View the full opinion here: https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/2486381/opinion/Opinion_2023-1482.pdf