Third DCA Reverses Order Granting Relief

The Third District Court of Appeal reversed today in Murphy v. Evans, a case in which the former husband’s counsel was repeatedly held in contempt and required to deposit fines into the court registry, but then granted relief from those orders and refunded his monies at a non-evidentiary hearing in response to an ex parte motion.  The Third District Court reviewed the attorney’s conduct and found that granting him relief from the fines was an abuse of the court’s discretion.