Opinion
Case Nos. 96-2682/96-2683/96-2885 (Consolidated)
Opinion filed August 7, 1997. Rehearing Denied September 25, 1997.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County. F. E. Steinmeyer, Judge.
Keith E. Hope of Keith E. Hope, P.A., Key Biscayne; J. Dennis Faucher and Bryan L. Clobes of Miller Faucher Chertow Cafferty and Wexler, Philadelphia, PA; Robert E. O'Quinn, Jr. of Webb O'Quinn Murphree, P.A., Jacksonville; Matthew F. Berry, Clear Lake, IA; George E. Ridge of Kent Ridge Crawford, Jacksonville; Richard M. Heimannof Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann Bernstein, San Francisco, CA; Ira Schocket and Lawrence A. Sucharow of Goodkind Labaton Rudoff Sucharow LLP, New York, NY; Robert S. Schachter of Zwerling, Schachter, Zwerling Koppell L.L.P., New York, NY; and Thomas A. Holman of Lefrak Holman, New York, NY, for Appellants.
Timothy W. Volpe, Stephen D. Busey and Leslie A. Wickes of Smith, Hulsey Busey, Jacksonville; Joseph L. Rebak of Tew Beasley, Miami; W. Carlisle Herbert of Hopkins Sutter, Chicago, IL; Charles B. Lembcke of Datz, Jacobson Lembcke, Jacksonville; Robert A. Weiss of Parker, Hudson, Rainer Dobbs, Tallahassee; Robert R. Feagin, III of Holland Knight, Tallahassee; Dennis K. Threadgill, Florida Department of Insurance, Tallahassee; Herschel E. Sparks, Jr. of Hughes Hubbard Reed, Miami; Mary Beth Perry of Guarantee Security Life Insurance Company, Jacksonville; Thomas M. Baumer of Baumer, Bradford Walters, Jacksonville; Richard A. Cirillo of Rogers Wells, New York, NY; Robert E. Warren of Taylor, Mosely Joyner, Jacksonville; David M. Wells of Mahoney, Adams Criser, Jacksonville; W. Donald Cox of Fowler, White, Gillen Boggs, Clearwater; Robert J. Winick, Jacksonville; Lewis F. Murphy of Steel, Hector Davis, Miami; Charles A. Stillman of Stillman, Friedman Shaw, New York, NY, for Appellee.
Appellants, John L. Haag, Jr., Roy L. Levine and their attorneys (collectively, "Haag"), challenge the trial court's orders (1) approving attorney's fee agreements entered into between appellee, the Department of Insurance, and two law firms, Smith Hulsey Busey, and Tew Beasley, and (2) denying appellants' motion for attorney's fees and costs. We affirm the first order, because the trial court properly approved the fee agreements pursuant to section 631.141(6), Florida Statutes (1995). We affirm the second order without comment because we conclude that, based on the partial record we have before us, it is supported by competent, substantial evidence.
Contrary to Haag's contention on appeal regarding the first order, this case is not controlled by Kuhnlein v. Department of Revenue, 662 So.2d 309 (Fla. 1995). There, the court stated that a fee agreement between the named plaintiffs and their attorneys in a common-fund class action cannot bind the remaining members of the class, and that in such cases the court must instead use the lodestar method to determine attorney's fees. The case at bar, in contrast, is controlled by section 631.141(6), which provides that the Department of Insurance acting as a receiver in a chapter 631 delinquency proceeding shall enter into a fee agreement with its attorneys, with such compensation to be paid out of the insurer's funds or assets, subject to the approval of the court. The court's approval means that it is required to determine the reasonableness of the fee agreement, which the court below did following an evidentiary hearing. Kuhnlein cannot be read to require a trial court to disregard an agreement required by section 631.141(6) and adopt instead the lodestar approach.
AFFIRMED.
ERVIN, KAHN and BENTON, JJ., CONCUR.