Florida’s Lodestar Method Not Apply in Dispute between Attorney and Client

Florida’s lodestar method (which is what it is called) is the formula used to determine “reasonable attorney’s fees” incurred in a case. It is simply taking the reasonable hourly rate by the reasonable number of hours based on FACTORS promulgated in the Florida Supreme Court case, Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145, 1150 (Fla. 1985).  The question is whether the lodestar method factors apply in a dispute between a client and it counsel where attorney’s fees are the damages. The answer is NO. “[T]he Florida Supreme Court has cautioned that the lodestar method is ‘ill-suited for the task of assessing attorney’s fees due as damages for breach of an agreement for the payment of fees[,]” and Rowe ‘was never intended to control in cases where the disputed fee will be paid by the client . . . .’”  Zorella v. Pathman Schermer Tandy, LLC, 51 Fla.L.Weekly D1544a (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).