Navarro v. Veloz
The trial court denied a former wife attorney's fees in a dissolution action because the fee claim was not properly pled under Stockman v. Downs. The Third District reversed, holding that the recognized exception to Stockman applied because the opposing party raised no objection to a clearly asserted claim for fees, thereby waiving the pleading defect, and remanded for imposition of fees.
Key facts
- Former wife sought attorney's fees in a dissolution of marriage action, but the trial court denied the fees claim, finding it was not properly pleaded under Stockman v. Downs.
- The opposing party never objected to the fee claim or the alleged pleading defect during the trial court proceedings, and a hearing on temporary fees was convened but not concluded before the final hearing.
- +1 more key fact with a free trial
Why it matters
This decision gives family and civil practitioners a citable path around a Stockman-based denial of fees: if the opponent had notice of the fee claim and never objected to the pleading defect, the objection is waived… — full analysis with a trial
Read the full opinion, holdings & search — free for 30 days
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision — in your hands.
- Search every tracked Florida decision in seconds
- Save, tag & file the cases that matter into your own library
- Read the full plain-English analysis and holdings
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.