First District Court Reverses Fee Award

The First District Court of Appeal reversed today in Shawfrank v. Shawfrank, a case in which the Appellant, the Former Husband below, was ordered to pay substantial fees to the Appellee on the basis that his petition for modification of alimony was without merit.  The First District found that in fact they were unable to conclude that the Former Husband’s petition was wholly without merit, in that the record supported that the former husband had lost a source of income, and was depleting capital assets to pay alimony.  As such, because the suit was not wholly without merit, and because the parties were each able to pay their own fees, the award was reversed.