Willis v. Willis

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

Willis v. Willis

149 A.D.2d 584, 540 N.Y.S.2d 677, 1989 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4942

CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

DecidedApril 17, 1989

StatusPublished

Cited by11 cases

This text of 149 A.D.2d 584 (Willis v. Willis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Willis v. Willis, 149 A.D.2d 584, 540 N.Y.S.2d 677, 1989 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4942 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1989).

Pincite

Opinion

In a matrimonial action in which the parties were divorced by judgment entered May 27, 1987, the defendant husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Kelly, J.), dated January 25, 1988, as awarded the plaintiff wife counsel fees in the amount of $1,000 in connection with her postjudgment motion to enforce certain provisions of a separation agreement entered into by the parties on February 11, 1987.

Ordered that the order is modified, by deleting the provision thereof which, upon granting that branch of the plaintiff’s motion which was for an award of counsel fees, set the fees in the amount of $1,000; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Rockland County, for a determination of the amount of reasonable attorney’s fees.

Although we agree with the Supreme Court that, pursuant to the separation agreement, the plaintiff was entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees arising from her application to enforce the agreement necessitated by the defendant’s breach of various provisions, we find no basis in the record for determining the reasonableness of the amount requested and awarded. It is well settled that an award of attorney’s fees should be "reasonable in light of the skill, experience and background of * * * counsel, the nature of the services rendered, the difficulty and complexity of the issues of fact and law involved in the case, as well as the time actually spent on [the case]” (Silver v Silver, 63 AD2d 1017, 1018). While the parties may waive a hearing and stipulate that attorney’s fees be determined on documentary evidence (see, Boritzer v Boritzer, 137 AD2d 477, 478; Price v Price, 115 AD2d 530; Sadofsky v Sadofsky, 78 AD2d 520, 521), in this case there was no stipulation and no documentary evidence submitted. Thompson, J. P., Kunzeman, Eiber, Spatt and Balletta, JJ., concur.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

In a matrimonial action in which the parties were divorced by judgment entered May 27, 1987, the defendant husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Kelly, J.), dated January 25, 1988, as awarded the plaintiff wife counsel fees in the amount of $1,000 in connection with her postjudgment motion to enforce certain provisions of a separation agreement entered into by the parties on February 11, 1987.

Ordered that the order is modified, by deleting the provision thereof which, upon granting that branch of the plaintiff’s motion which was for an award of counsel fees, set the fees in the amount of $1,000; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Rockland County, for a determination of the amount of reasonable attorney’s fees.

Although we agree with the Supreme Court that, pursuant to the separation agreement, the plaintiff was entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees arising from her application to enforce the agreement necessitated by the defendant’s breach of various provisions, we find no basis in the record for determining the reasonableness of the amount requested and awarded. It is well settled that an award of attorney’s fees should be "reasonable in light of the skill, experience and background of * * * counsel, the nature of the services rendered, the difficulty and complexity of the issues of fact and law involved in the case, as well as the time actually spent on [the case]” (Silver v Silver, 63 AD2d 1017, 1018). While the parties may waive a hearing and stipulate that attorney’s fees be determined on documentary evidence (see, Boritzer v Boritzer, 137 AD2d 477, 478; Price v Price, 115 AD2d 530; Sadofsky v Sadofsky, 78 AD2d 520, 521), in this case there was no stipulation and no documentary evidence submitted. Thompson, J. P., Kunzeman, Eiber, Spatt and Balletta, JJ., concur.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

149 A.D.2d 584, 540 N.Y.S.2d 677, 1989 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4942, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willis-v-willis-nyappdiv-1989.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack