Ferguson v. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
The Third DCA affirmed a $16.5 million attorney fee award to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in a decades-long RICO case, holding that the client's former attorney general could lay the business-records predicate for the law firms' billing records, and that the trial court's Rowe findings — including that any duplicative work following one firm's disqualification was not 'unreasonably' duplicative — were supported by competent substantial evidence. The court reversed the $802,006.80 cost award because the trial court made no specific findings justifying the award of ordinarily non-taxable costs (computer research, overhead, travel, clerical work).
Key facts
- The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and multiple law firms litigated a RICO case spanning decades, with the Republic seeking attorney fees and costs after prevailing.
- The trial court awarded the Republic $16.5 million in attorney fees and $802,006.80 in costs, applying the Rowe factors to evaluate reasonableness of billed hours including duplicative work by successor counsel.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is a useful roadmap for both sides of a large fee litigation. Fee applicants gain support for using a client-side custodian rather than billing attorneys to authenticate invoices, and for defending 'duplication'… — full analysis with a trial
🔒 Read the full opinion, holding & search the library
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision are available to members. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card.
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.