RAJIV RAMAKRISHNAN vs ERIKA RAMAKRISHNAN

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: December 30, 2022
• Docket: 22-0769
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

RAJIV RAMAKRISHNAN,

Appellant,

v. Case No. 5D22-769 LT Case No. 2019-DR-000686-AX

ERIKA RAMAKRISHNAN,

Appellee.

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Opinion filed December 30, 2022

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lake County, Dan R. Mosley, Judge.

Gary S. Israel, of Gary Israel, P.A., Orlando, for Appellant.

Brandon M. Tyson, of Tyson Law Firm, LLC, Winter Park, for Appellee.

WALLIS, J.

Appellant appeals the amended final judgment of dissolution of

marriage ordering, inter alia, that Appellee is entitled to recover attorney's fees. Appellant argues that the trial court did not properly reserve jurisdiction

to rule that Appellee was entitled to fees and that in so doing, the court

exceeded the relief that the parties requested. We reject Appellant's

arguments and affirm. Cf. Harbin v. Harbin, 762 So. 2d 561, 563 (Fla. 5th

DCA 2000) (holding trial court erred in failing to reserve jurisdiction to

determine attorney’s fees in the final judgment of modification when wife

requested attorney’s fees in her pleadings and at the modification trial).

Moreover, Appellant's arguments challenging the entitlement to fees is

not ripe for appellate review. Therefore, we dismiss this issue for lack of

appellate jurisdiction. See Cummings v. Cummings, 868 So. 2d 1285, 1286

(Fla. 5th DCA 2004) ("Because the court's order only determined entitlement

but did not set the amount of such fees, the issue is not ripe for determination

at this time.").

AFFIRM IN PART; DISMISS IN PART.

LAMBERT, C.J. and EVANDER, J., concur.