Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity
Florida family law rules require that a party be put on notice of what is at stake at a hearing. This is done via a motion filed by the complaining party. The court is usually restricted to awarding only the relief requested in the motion or pleading being considered at a hearing. This was an issue in the case Breton v. Raud, 3D24-0890 (Fla. 3d DCA September 17, 2025).
The parties were granted a final judgment of paternity. Thereafter, the father sought to modify the parenting plan. The mother filed a motion for temporary fees and costs, citing a need for $25,000 for temporary attorney’s fees and a $5,000 deposit toward a forensic accountant. Separately, the mother also moved for contempt because the father stopped paying the full amount of child support due. An agreed order was entered on that motion for the court to reserve ruling on the issue until the final hearing. Subsequently, a hearing was held on the mother’s request for temporary fees and costs, and the court granted the mother over $100,000 in attorney’s fees plus more than $25,000 in costs. The father appealed.
The appellate court affirmed the mother’s entitlement to fees and costs finding there was competent and substantial evidence to support this conclusion. But, the court held “We are compelled, however, to reverse those portions of the Order awarding amounts not sought in Mother’s Motion. This Court has consistently held that a due process violation occurs if a trial court awards relief not requested in a pleading or motion.
The court concluded “In this case, the Motion sought $25,000 in temporary fees ‘to get us through mediation and the upcoming hearings’ and a $5,000 ‘initial deposit for the forensic accountant.’ The Motion defined the parameters of the relief Mother was seeking and was the only matter noticed for the April 10th hearing. Entertaining claims and awarding relief not sought in the Motion constituted a due process violation. [. . .] This is distinctly the case here because the Order’s total awarded fees included an amount representing fees for Mother’s contempt proceedings, despite a separate order expressly reserving the determination of such fees for a later ‘final trial.’ The record reflects no notice to Father that, at the April 10th hearing, the trial court would be adjudicating Mother’s fee claim associated with the contempt proceedings.”
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