An order determining entitlement to attorneys’ fees without setting amount is not appealable

Attorney’s fees — Appeals — Jurisdiction — Non-final
orders — An order finding entitlement to attorney’s fees but not setting an
amount is a non-final, non-appealable order — Appeal dismissed for lack of
jurisdiction

KLING CORPORATION, etc., et al., Appellants, vs. HOLA NETWORKS CORPORATION,
etc., et al., Appellees. 3rd District. Case Nos. 3D13-2327 & 3D13-1936. L.T.
Case No. 10-49685. Opinion filed November 27, 2013. Appeals from the Circuit
Court for Miami-Dade County, Marc Schumacher, Judge. Counsel: Cueto Law Group
P.L. and Santiago Cueto; Allen Hyman (North Hollywood, California), for
appellants Kling Corporation and Anthony Kling. Jorge L. Piedra and Gregory R.
Bel, for appellees Hola Networks Corporation and Hispanic Network Group, LLC.

(Before SUAREZ, LAGOA and SALTER, JJ.)

(LAGOA, J.) Appellees, Hola Networks Corporation and Hispanic Network Group,
LLC, (collectively “Appellees”) move to dismiss the appeal filed by Appellants,
Kling Corporation, Anthony Kling, and Santiago A. Cueto, Esq., (collectively
“Appellants”). Appellees contend that the orders on appeal are non-final orders
and that this Court, therefore, lacks jurisdiction to entertain this appeal. We
agree.

Appellants appeal from a June 19, 2013 Order granting Appellees’ Motion for
Sanctions (the “Order”), and from a June 19, 2013 Order denying Appellants’
Motion for Rehearing. The Orders at issue expressly state that the amount of
fees to be awarded would be determined at a later date.

An order that merely finds entitlement to attorney’s fees but does not set an
amount is a non-final, non-appealable order. See Alexopoulos v. Gordon
Hargrove & James, P.A., 109 So. 3d 248, 250 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013);
Mills v. Martinez, 909 So. 2d 340, 342 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (“An award of
attorneys’ fees does not become final, and, therefore, appealable until the
amount is set by the trial court.”); Chaiken v. Suchman, 694 So. 2d 115,
117 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (stating that an order awarding entitlement to attorney’s
fees does not become final until the amount of the fee is set). Nor is such an
order one of the enumerated appealable non-final orders set forth in Florida
Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.130(a)(3).

Because the Orders on appeal do not set the amount of the award, but only
find an entitlement to fees, we grant the Appellees’ motion and dismiss the
appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Motion granted; appeal dismissed.