Justice Administration Commission v. Jupena

226 So. 3d 381, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 13394, 2017 WL 4182946
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedSeptember 22, 2017
DocketCase 5D17-559
StatusPublished

This text of 226 So. 3d 381 (Justice Administration Commission v. Jupena) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Justice Administration Commission v. Jupena, 226 So. 3d 381, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 13394, 2017 WL 4182946 (Fla. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

BERGER, J.

The Justice Administration Commission (JAC) petitions this Court for a writ of certiorari 1 to quash the lower court’s “Order Approving Payment of Attorney’s Fees, Costs, or Related Expenses” entered on behalf of James R. Jupena, Esq., relating to his representation of J.K. (Father), the father of C.C., a child. Because the trial court’s order was entered in violation of section 27.5304(6)(a), Florida Statutes (2016), without the requisite findings required by section 27.5304(12), Florida Statutes (2016), we grant the petition.

Jupena was appointed by the trial court to represent Father, who was found to be indigent, in dependency proceedings as to Father’s four minor children, M.K., J.K., M.K., and A.K. Thereafter, the trial court proceeded to disposition as to the four children and directed Father to enter into a case plan. Following the disposition hearing, Jupena submitted a billing request to the JAC for the statutory initial flat fee of $800. See § 27.5304(6)(a)l., Fla. Stat. (2016). The JAC processed this billing and remitted payment to Jupena.

The following year, the trial court held the first judicial review of the dependency case as to M.K., J.K., M.K., and A.K. The trial court found Father was non-compliant with his case plan, and the case plan as to the four children was set for its next judicial review five months later. Following the hearing, Jupena submitted a billing request to the JAC for the flat fee amount of $200 for the second year of the dependency case. See § 27.5304(6)(a)2., Fla. Stat. (2016). The JAC processed this billing and remitted payment to Jupena.

While the dependency proceeding was pending, paternity of a fifth child, C.C., was being disputed by Father. At the same judicial review hearing regarding M.K, J.K., M.K., and A.K., the trial court found Father to be the legal parent of C.C. and entered an order appointing Jupena to represent Father in the dependency proceedings related to this child as well. As to C.C., the trial court held a disposition hearing, approved the case plan, and proceeded to disposition. Thereafter, Jupena submitted another billing request to the JAC for another initial flat fee of $800 for his representation of Father in the disposition proceeding as to C.C. The JAC rejected the billing on the basis that it had previously paid Jupena $1000 in accordance with his representation of Father in all of Father’s dependency eases. See § 27.5304(6)(a), Fla. Stat.

When the JAC. rejected the billing, Jupena filed a “Motion for Attorney’s Fees and In the Alternative, to Exceed Statutory Attorney Fee Limit.” In his motion, Jupena. acknowledged that C.C. had been added to Jupena’s existing representation of Father, and that Jupena sought the $800 as the statutory initial flat fee, or in the alternative, as extraordinary compensation. The JAC filed a response, explaining that section 27.5304(6)(a) precluded Jupena from receiving a second statutory initial flat fee of $800. The JAC also argued that Jupena’s motion violated his contract 2 with the JAC and also failed to comply with section 27.5304(12) because Jupena had failed to provide the requisite documents, including his hourly billing, to justify his request for extraordinary compensation.

Thereafter, Jupena withdrew his motion and filed a second motion seeking the initial flat fee of $800 or, in the alternative, to exceed the statutory fee limit set forth in section 27.5304. His second motion was identical to the first, except that Jupena did not specifically request extraordinary compensation. The JAC objected, relying on section 27.5304(6). After a hearing on the matter, the trial court determined.the fee was “appropriate and reasonable” and entered an order directing the JAC to pay Jupena the additional $800 fee. The JAC now seeks review of that order.

' [2-4] “[T]o obtain a writ of certiorari, there must exist (1) a departure from the essential requirements of the law, (2) resulting in material injury for the remainder of the ease (3) that cannot be corrected oh postjudgment appeal.” Dep’t of Child. & Fams. v. Carmona, 159 So.3d 165, 166-67 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015) (quoting In re Commitment of Reilly, 970 So.2d 453, 455 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)). “A ruling constitutes ‘a departure from the essential requirements of the law’ when it amounts to ‘a violation of á clearly established principle of law resulting in a miscarriage of ‘justice.’” Byrd v. S. Prestressed Concrete, Inc., 928 So.2d 455, 457 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (quoting Combs v. State, 436 So.2d 93, 96 (Fla. 1983)). The elements of material injury and the absence of adequate remedy on appeal sérve as jurisdictional requirements for certiorari relief. Gonzalez v. State, 15 So.3d 37, 39 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009).

Section 27.5304(6)(a) provides the following for payment to private court-appointed counsel in dependency cases:

(6) For compensation for representation pursuant to a court appointment in a proceeding under chapter 39:
(a) At the .trial level, compensation for representation for dependency proceedings shall not exceed $1,000 for the first year following the date of appointment and shall not exceed $200 each year thereafter. Compensation shall be paid based upon representation of a parent irrespective of the number of case numbers that may be assigned or the-number of children involved, including any children born during the pendency of the proceeding. Any appeal, except for an appeal from an adjudication of dependency, shall be completed by the trial attorney and is considered compensated by the flat fee for dependency proceedings.
1. Counsel may bill the flat fee not exceeding $1,000 following disposition or upon dismissal of the petition.
2. Counsel may bill the annual flat fee not exceeding $200 following the first judicial review in the second year following the date of appointment and each year thereafter as long as the case remains under protective supervision.
3. If the court grants a motion to reactivate protective supervision, the attorney shall receive the annual flat fee not exceeding $200 following the first judicial .review and up to an additional $200 each year thereafter.
4. If, during the course of dependency proceedings, a proceeding to terminate parental rights is initiated, compensation shall be as set forth in paragraph (b). If counsel handling the dependency proceeding is not authorized to handle proceedings to terminate parental rights, the counsel must withdraw and new counsel must be appointed.

(Emphasis added). The plain reading of section 27.5304(6)(a) precludes Jupena from seeking an additional initial flat" fee of $800 from the JAC for his representation of the Father as it relates to C.C. absent a pleading by Jupena and a finding by the trial court that the case required extraordinary or unusual effort. See § 27.5304(12), Fla. Stat. •

Section 27.5304(12) provides in relevant part:

(12) The Legislature recognizes that on rare occasions an attorney may receive a case that requires extraordinary and unusual effort.

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Bluebook (online)
226 So. 3d 381, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 13394, 2017 WL 4182946, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/justice-administration-commission-v-jupena-fladistctapp-2017.