Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Unreported Opinions have no precedential value. And it’s a lucky thing for two Charleston attorneys who apparently understood more about how to get the trial judge to ignore the law than they understood about the law. At the very least, the two lawyers who represented the mother should be ashamed of themselves. At over $400 per hour they had to know better. Or in the words of the South Carolina Court of Appeals:
B. Attorney’s Fees
Father also challenges the award of attorney’s fees. He argues the following on appeal: (1) the family court failed to make adequate findings of fact pursuant to Rule 26 and, more specifically, failed to require financial declarations pursuant to Rule 20 before making the award; (2) the family court failed to consider the factors required by law; and (3) Father was improperly denied his request to question Mother’s counsel regarding hours spent in preparation.
An attorney fee award must be based on adequate findings of fact. Clearly, the order of dismissal that awarded the Mother attorney fees included no findings of fact. Nevertheless, the court made findings in its order on reconsideration. However, in view of our decision to reverse and remand certain issues, we also reverse and remand the matter of attorney fees (emphasis added).
