John & Meghan Walsh Housing Dispute: Property, Fees & Court Testimony (2022)

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29:36 foreign called a series of people to confirm my understanding of what is a reasonable rate in the community to confirm my understanding of what it is is yes um are you familiar with the local rates in time customarily expended in the 19 judicial circuit for partition matters yes and do you believe the fees in this case were required to achieve success in this case it certainly appears that way yes um and are they within the realm that you have found to be customarily awarded in litigation of this kind within that the range rejected would consider reasonable for the Locale in geographic area of Albanian River County and I conservative

49:06 yes review the time and labor required the novelty and difficulty the questions involved the school requisites yes and did you review the likelihood a parent to the client of the acceptance of the particular employment would conclude me from other employment yes I do did you review the uh the customarily charged locality yes um I did that by contacting other folks throughout the 19th serving and the amount involved and the results obtain Factor yes it is well correct the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances I was I wasn't aware of any but I did review that factor

49:58 uh the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client yes I did that as well The Experience reputation the ability of the lawyer and lawyers performing the services uh that as well yes correct and then the uh whether the fee is fixed or contingent uh repeat that I'm sorry whether the fee is fixed or contingent scale I reviewed that issue as well uh did you also review the factors laid out in the portable professional responsibility 4-1.5 yes I did um and did you look at any sort of uh discounts given on the bills you know waving of certain things um you know discounting the overall bill just paying hourly rates

50:47 uh yes I did and I applied um some of my own I can explain further if you'd like did you find the hourly rates to be too high too low or did you find that they were worthy you believe they should be they were within the range for uh for Indian River County yes um were you able to ascertain from the billing records whether Discovery was made more difficult by an opposing Party by the respondent in this case it appeared that way yes it was a motion to compel had to be filed that's my recollection did you find that there was any extraordinary opposition by the

51:24 respondent in this case um well let me explain that and the answer to that is yes and let me explain that um in my experience the partition cases especially family members it's it's always difficult it's in some ways it's it's a family divorce and so it gets to be a bit emotional and that was to be expected before I came into the case and I found that to be the case here as well um did you find the litigation this case was extraordinary in any sense unusual I guess is is uh is the best way to describe it um there were

52:06 very bluntly some treatment issues um that apparently uh had to um probably impacted the response of the parties and there seemed to be some stop and start and stop and started both of which increased the costs of this particular case probably a bit more than it would in the normal Garden variety type of case your opinion is n't getting the row factors and the affordable professional responsibility 4-1.5 how many hours do you think would be reasonable validating this case I told her that the hours that were that were built by by referral Mr Hayden I noted that uh referral was um very straightforward in cutting back its own

53:03 time and offering credits to The Client I additionally looked at two additional entries that I thought would not be appropriate to uh fee shift totaling 2.5 hours the total hours were 140.2 by my math and I took away the 2.5 hours that left us at 137.7 I slightly adjusted the rate as as you know Mr Hyde we're based in Palm Beach County and it's it's a characteristic uh that uh that the rates in southeast Florida are seem to be higher much higher the further south you go meaning Miami is very high Broward is a little bit a little bit higher Palm Beach perhaps a bit more Palm Beach County drops a bit more

54:02 the 19th circuit drops a bit more I attribute that not to the competence and it's going expertise of the lawyers but because of the local legal environment so I I pegged the applicable rate at 400 per hour which is a touch below and I believe you build Mr Walsh is 415. um and uh you're worse more than 415 but the local the locality 400 an hour I think is appropriate considering all the factors that you've testified to what is the reasonable fee that would be to be awarded to the movement in this case going back to the number that I came up with .37.7

54:47 times 400 an hour I came up with a total of fifty five thousand and eighty dollars that's my reasonable fee I noticed that uh Mason labor beat me to it and cut back its own fees um because it only build 55 196.50 so we're um it just happened to be that we came out in the same neighborhood and how does this the amount um compared to other firms than geographic area I think that's reasonable under the circumstances I think it's in line with the um skill and expertise of missing you and yourself Mr Hein for this type of case the 19th circuit and especially

55:30 in Indian River County um have you charged anything for preparing and or testifying today yes I built my time um and um so far before this morning I had before I testified I had 5271.50 I'll repeat that again for the benefit of the court reporter 5 271.50 that's my early age plus I know I started again at one o'clock so whether I don't know what time it is it's two o'clock thank you um and in reviewing the uh invoices and you review the docket and the pleadings um do you see a justification in this case or the repayment of those fees off

56:27 the top of the net proceeds as opposed to a reimbursement of half of that yes um I saw no no reason to contest we partition this particular case um this appears that uh that it should have been a very straightforward uh situation where the property was partitioned uh and then both parties appeared before the court and asked for the splitting of the proceeds of the partition due to the perhaps the family nature I can never get into the minds of through participants to come against themselves but this got a little bit complicated it got a little uh out of control uh so

57:20 um I I realized that the partition statute is perhaps not a model of clarity but I think in this particular case the court has discretion uh to um the the part from the traditional 50-50 uh split as two trees and I think that that the costs um should come off the top and then the proceeds of the partition should be rated heavily in favor of Mr Walsh but that's that's a legal determination for the court that's just it's my opening action for looking at this and we haven't done these cases before you've got nothing further all right

58:05 cross-examination yes your honor sir have you worked with Mr Haydn and his firm prior to this case I I have worked with uh uh Nathan yes prior to this case that's correct okay I was a special Magistrate um in the case 15 judicial circuit case before judge I go ahead and say exactly the name of the case was Poe turning p-o-u-t let me ask you let me ask you a joke because let me ask you a different question when is the last time that you represented a party not as a special magistrate but a party it's it's several years ago and how much did you charge when you

58:57 were in your last partition case I can't recall was it 55 000. I'm I'm guessing I can't even recall the last one that I did it's been more than five years okay and you basically determined by calling other attorneys in the area what was an appropriate rate sir yes and no and I can answer that in Greater detail if you'd like okay yes please um there there is a um I have my own opinion as to what is an appropriate rate in a partition case uh depending on how actively it's litigated I call the other attorneys to determine what is

59:44 um the prevailing Rate rates in Indian River County that I've been certain so that's there's two answers to that question what attorneys did you call on the 19th circuit I mean I look at my notes real quick yes or I can try to do it from memory of it if either way uh um looking at my notes well let me see if I can do it from memory I called Mr Owen Schultz I called Mr Louis vasel he's known locally spot for sale I called Randy Brennan um I called I'll have to look at my notes aspirators folks my apologies that's okay would you like me to continue no we can

1:00:31 we can move on okay um do attorneys fees make a difference if the house is the gift ma'am I can't think of a reason why it would make a difference either way okay so if if the parties or tenants in common and one person believes it's the gift and they argue that is that vexatious litigation sexual speculation and outside of school he's an expert overall it would depend on the nature and the scope of the litigation have you ever spoken to miss Walsh no have you ever spoken to any of her attorneys okay okay you're going on the storyline that Mr Haydn provided for you correct

1:01:33 yes and no I did speak to Mr Haydn he provided a narrative uh but then I did my own analysis and I reviewed the objective records do you think that Miss Walsh should still be responsible for your fees in Mr hide and seeks you're asking me to to preserve it is a gift presuming it's a gift um the the way the uh and I made reference to this the way the the partition statute is written um the historical way is that even if it is a gift um that the fees are split 50 50. uh no matter well I should say more precisely the fees are split evenly amongst the

1:02:28 co-owners subject to the discretion of the trial court or special circumstances so and to answer your question in one short sentence yes even if it is a gift these should be 50 50 as an opening analysis so should all of Miss Walsh's fees also should they also be split at the beginning I'm sorry my answer I heard somebody say something oh I'm sorry what I was asking was so all of Miss Walsh's attorneys are they also entitled to their money right off the top as well again in the description of the trial court okay so no one's actually entitled it's up to the judge after she hears the specific

1:03:10 facts in this case if if you're I I'm speaking entitled under the statute you're speaking entitled under the facts of the case under the statute yes the party is entitled and the fact that this particular case your question is correct that no neither party is entitled until the judge says they're entitled correct so it's really up to the judge at this point in Mr Haydn's bills I'm sorry can you repeat that somewhere it's it's really up to the judge's determination how Mr Haydn's myself or any other lawyers that were on this case how the bills will be paid the partition statute does give the trial court a

1:03:57 great deal of discretion correct okay and 110 hours is that normal on a partition case unfortunately yes um at least the partitions that I've been involved with the 630 that I've been involved with because they have all been emotional Affairs and what should be somewhat straightforward um for various reasons does not become straightforward so it's It's Not Unusual in fact um when I was first called about this retention I expected to see the fees attach higher you go now you went through each individual one and you said that there were 2.5 hours that shouldn't be charged which hours were those and why

1:04:51 yes uh can I refer to my nose man yes you may well I don't have it I'm going to look at the the time entries themselves on February 1st 2021 Mr Hart Haydn charged 1.4 hours to uh research the applicable AOS the 19th Judicial circuits beg pardon I didn't say anything I think someone I apologize I don't know it's quite all right I just heard somebody I did too but it wasn't it wasn't me I apologize so um I'll read I'll read again the entire entry um the entire entry reads research applicable AOS in the 19th Judicial Circuit I presume that's administrative orders to have to email the client receive

1:06:03 calls from this Bragg 1.4 hours I didn't think that was moving the case forward uh at least from the information I had so I did not feel comfortable um saying that was permissible in this particular case and then um on 8 31 2022 Mr Hayden um wrote contact Manning and other Witnesses regarding date availability draft emails and reply 0.4 again I thought that was uh not really the case forward I'm not questioning whether the time was spent I suspected it was but I I approached I approach my analysis from a very restrictive analysis perspective I guess uh in the light that this is fish yesterday

1:06:57 of course two different things of course and do you believe that when Mr Haydn was taking background information from the walshes that it was necessary the amount of time he spent could you repeat that question ma'am my phone was ringing I'm sorry those are appropriate I do under these circumstances ma'am and I'm happy to explain why please please as I said before um partitions are like a family divorce and for those of us who have done divorces um in the past I know that they're extremely emotional and there's a great deal of information that needs to be transmitted sometimes it's hand-holding

1:07:50 and sometimes it's transmission of information sometimes it's a combination of the two I I did see a great deal of information but under the circumstances of this particular case especially personal difficulties of the other party um I I did not think it was unusual this this has all the characteristics of a family divorce are you aware that Mr Haydn has been involved in other cases that have to do with the parties Mr Walsh and Megan Walsh production relevance Mr Hyde and we're to have personal Knowledge from prior cases about this the parties is it necessary to rehear all the information again

1:08:39 objection relevance and speculation a world if he has the same information it would not be it would not be um it would not be a fee shifting permissible time entry to rehash the same information correct further your honor any redirect you know your honor all right may this witness be excused yes sure all right thank you Mr Frost you're excused thank you thank you your next Witness so I'd like to call Jaclyn Bragg please brag if you'll raise your right hand and take your there you go do you swear or affirm the information you're about to give it's a truth the

1:09:39 whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do all right Miss Greg who are you employed by uh John and Rave Walsh and what is your position there I am uh assistant bookkeeper as part of your job are you privy to financial discussions or decisions that Mr Walsh makes yes were you privy to the finance Financial discussions or decisions Mr Walsh had with regard to the purchase of the property at issuing this action yes um based on that knowledge do you know why Mr Walsh purchased the property it was an investment for him um during your time of employment with Mr Walsh has he to your knowledge purchased any other properties as Investments yes he has purchased many as

1:10:34 Investments do you know why Mr Walsh's name is uh was on the deed to the property in this case because his intention was that it was his property do you know why Mr Walsh placed Miss Walsh's name on the deed he thought at the time it would help her credit and also if she were to secure employment and get a mortgage on it that it would be an easier transition for her to purchase the property outright from him um to your knowledge do Miss Boss ever secure a mortgage to buy the Mr Walsh no is part of your employment are you aware if Mr Walsh and kurd additional I'll call them maintenance expenses related to the property

1:11:24 yes I am and why did he pay those expenses upkeep of the home and maintenance of the home where we've been just some other things did Miss Walsh ever uh offer to pay any of the maintenance expenses on the home no um let me ask you this uh to your knowledge did Mr Walsh intend for that property to be a gift to miss Walsh no right and what is the basis of your belief of that we we spoke about it several times before the purchase of the property which is why he has his name on on the

1:12:12 deed um and and their Hope was that Megan would get a mortgage on it and he would get the return of his investment objection is speculation and self-serving statements overall was it to your knowledge Mr Walsh's intention that the maintenance things that he paid for were intended to be a gift to miss Walsh no and what is the basis of your belief that those were not intended to be a gift because again it was in hopes that Megan would get employment and be able to support herself with the maintenance of the home purchase of the home

1:13:00 any upkeep that needed to be done as a part of your job do you assist Mr Walsh with the payment of it with the payment of expenses related to that house yes um do you know how much Mr Walsh paid for the home 260 000 I believe in just a moment thank you going to share screen briefly describe I know it's a bit hard to see this on on Zoom but do you recognize this bank statement yes and is this statement reflecting me funds Mr Walsh used to purchase the property yes and have you seen this statement the original statement itself and this yeah

1:14:11 you know this is listed as exhibit two on our proposed exhibit list we would like to move it into evidence as petitioners exhibit three any objection no your honor so received without objection again follow the clerk's rules for getting admitted exhibits to the clerk's file yeah sure thank you uh to your knowledge did Miss Walsh contribute anything to the purchase price of the house no did Mr Walsh pay the annual taxes on the home yes why did he pay those taxes so his house wouldn't be taken from him going to share a screen did you collect the tax bills later the property in this case yes are these true and accurate copies of

1:15:10 those tax bills yes no objection then we will do that as petitioners exhibit I believe it's four so moved without objection a minute you're on I'm gonna make sure I'm learning some videos um did Miss Walsh pay any of the annual insurance premiums on the property no were you the one that assists Mr Walsh from the payment of those expenses yes I was inside I'm going to share a screen with you briefly are these the insurance premiums for the home miss Walsh I'm not sorry Miss Bragg yes you know I'd like to move these into

1:16:24 evidence as a distress exhibit five and objection so received as requested without objection uh it was Mr Mr Walsh have to pay the inner Association yes did Miss Walsh contribute to any of those expenses no foreign association dues yes and did you prepare this document yes I'm asking you some medicine evidence as participants exhibit six any objection well I have no objection too bad him to the bill itself I have an objection to the handwriting on it I can certainly acquire Miss Frank who is he inviting is that on this statement that's my handwriting okay and how did you determine um that information

1:17:49 because for for a time we were transferring money to Megan's checking account so she could pay her own bills hoping that it would make make her responsible for paying those bills on her own but they weren't being paid so we ended up changing that procedure and just paying bills outright again um because things were not being paid I'd like just to make this again into evidence as our position doesn't say that any objection now in your honor so received as requested without objection during the ownership of the property Mr Walsh have to repair or have the garage door repaired yes and do you recall what occurred to the

1:18:44 garage door I don't remember what was wrong with it maybe it was stuck open um I don't I don't recall exactly what was wrong with it yeah did you gather the bill for it yes exactly is this a true and correct copy of the bill for the repair of the garage door yes if there's evidence of the checks or the checkpoint can wolves used to pay for that repair yes I would like to submit this news is our petitions exhibit seven no objection so received as requested without objection did Miss Walsh pay any of those expenses

1:19:30 Mr Craig no uh did Mr Walsh was there a time where he had to pay or have tree trimming done at the property yes and was there a specific reason why the tree coming had to occur the trees were overgrowing branches falling recognize this Bill yes was this bill for the tree trimming yes and are you the one that gathered this Bill yes you want to be like to submit this into evidence as our petitioners exhibit hate no objection so received as requested without objection and this Brides your knowledge did Miss Walsh pay for any of those expenses no uh did Mr Walsh ever have a fence

1:20:24 installed at the property yes in your experience in bookkeeping does Mr Walsh have fences installed in other properties he has fences and Gates on a lot of his properties all of them actually including investment properties including investment properties is it you recognize this invoice I do and did you go to this invoice yes and Mr Walsh is this uh reflecting Mr Walsh's payment of the invoice to space statement it's attached to it yes I'd like to move this into evidence to your owner as our physicians extended nine no objection your honor so received as requested without objection

1:21:15 did Miss Walsh pay anything on that invoice Mr Bradley no uh was there a time where new appliances had to be purchased for the property yes yes and why do the new appliances have been purchased "[Music]" it's your honor at this time sure if if that's uh they want to go I can just go through and list what they are as as our on our exhibit list because I set up to your honor fine with me until's trial s but we have a composite documents relating to the payment of Home Depot expenditures those are the appliances that will become petitioners exhibit 10.

1:22:13 we have composite documents related to the payment of Baker air conditioning expenditures that would become petitioners exhibit 11. we have composite documents relating to the petitioner's payment of complete electric expenditures that would become petitioners exhibit 12 we have composite documents related to handyman expenses that will become petitioners 13. composite documents related to somebody to that one um housekeeping expenditures that will become petitioners 14 composite documents related to the payment of utilities at the property that will become petitioners 15 composite documents whether the paint disclaimant of landscaping expenditures that becomes uh petitioners exhibit 16. composite documents with the payment of lawn care expenditures that becomes petitioners 17.

1:23:16 composite documents so you get the payment of leaf filter gutters becomes petitioners exhibit 18. composite documents related to the payment of the slab leak repair expenditures will become petitioners exhibit 19 composite documents whether it's a plane to petitioner's payment of rooted landscape expenditures becomes petitioners exhibit 20 composite documents by The District's payment of sprinkler repair petitioners exhibit 21 . may I continue your honor yes um of those all those invoices Ms Bragg uh did Mr Walsh um pay or authorize you and his behind to pay all those expenditures yes did Miss Walsh pay on any of those expenditures no were the expenditures incurred in on

1:24:33 this property consistent with how Mr Walsh to your knowledge maintains his other properties including investment properties yes um was there anything unique that Mr Walsh did with this property that you would not have done or did not do with other investment properties to your knowledge no I have nothing further your honor right cross yes ma'am how long have you worked for the Walsh's about 16 17 years and how did you start out under their employment I started as their housekeeper um Maybe eight nine years ago do you remember testifying August 10th of 2022 in another case that had to do

1:25:38 with Miss Walsh objection your honor we were here for this case not a separate case do you remember that man and you do and you testified that you were their PR manager correct I don't believe I said I was a PR manager you didn't say that you were in charge of all the social media and you were watching everything that miss Walsh testified to or stated on her blogs objects a world I said that was part of my job as John's assistant to keep an eye on anything that relates to his family okay and you did not testify at that time that you had anything to do with the bookkeeping

1:26:25 did you objection relevance your honor the scope of that trial was very different in the scope of today's trial as was that line of questioning overall yeah I don't remember if I said if I was his bookkeeper or not but it falls under assistant to me so okay now were you ever present when Mr Walsh and Megan Walsh had a discussion about this house um not that I recall that just the two of them no right so you don't know what Miss Walsh believed whether it was a gift or not do you you don't know what Miss Walsh was thinking I I can't know what she's thinking no

1:27:06 right and let me ask you a question with all these bills and all this money that was paid by Mr Walsh did you send Miss Walsh Megan Walsh a bill some bills went to her house directly I'm asking if you after paying them asked for reimbursement over five years no did you ask for any reimbursements for anything over five years while miss Walsh lived there no so wouldn't strike that did Miss Walsh ever say to you I know this is only temporary for me not that I recall she had Miss Walsh or did Mr Walsh choose to put the fence in

1:28:00 I believe that was Mr Walsh so did Miss Walsh ask her dad to do that or he just did it on his own I I don't know the reality is is you don't know what what went on between Mr Walsh and his daughter do you when I wasn't there no okay what you do know is that Mr Walsh paid for everything correct yes and in the past did Mr Walsh pay for everything for Miss Walsh objection vague I'm not clear what she means I can rephrase the house I don't know about timing but he did purchase a car for her and has he purchased other properties for Miss

1:28:52 Walsh objection relevance overall he didn't purchase prep he purchased a property that was sorry I didn't hear the objection leading overall and he purchased a property in North Carolina for her to live in okay and what happened with that property uh Mr Wolf sold it okay let me ask you about this what's her name on that property as well not that I'm aware of okay but it is on this property yes and now did he also pay for an apartment in in New York City for Miss Walsh I believe so yes and did he ever ask for

1:29:49 any monies back I don't know and in 2021 at some point did Mr Walsh get angry with his daughter and did they have a falling out Jackson relevance stain um do you know if Miss Walsh had a job in 2016 . sustained to okay since you are claiming now that you were the bill you were in charge of bills today did you send out bills at any time from 2016 until present asking for the monies back whether it be for the tree trimming an answer overall I'm sorry asked the question again I want to know if there was any bills

1:30:50 anything you ever sent Miss Walsh asking her to contribute to anything regarding the property no and to your knowledge whether or not you know this did Mr Walsh ever directly ask her and you may not know I don't know okay one moment your honor and nothing further your honor can you redirect yes Sean uh Miss brag you were asked questions about a property in North Carolina was that a property that Mr Walsh uh when he sold retained these sale proceeds to yes uh did he consider that as an investment property yes um were any of the bills that have not been interested in evidence sent to miss Walsh's house directly

1:31:44 from the providers not that I know of there may have been a few that were sent directly to her that she gave to me did she ever pay any of the bills that have been entered into evidence with regard to the house no okay uh did you did Mr Walsh ever tell you that the house was intended to be a gift to him how many gifts Miss Walsh sorry everything was frozen for a minute I don't know what I missed did Mr Walsh ever tell you that the home and or any of these expenses were intended to be a gift to miss Walsh and I'm going to have jacked

1:32:31 self-serving hearsay overall you can ask a good questions Greg no did Mr Walsh ever tell you if he did not intend for these to be a gift to miss Walsh the favor say he did not intend for it yes yes he did tell me he did not intend for it to be a gift which is why he put his name on it nothing further on it right May the sweetness be excused yes sure I can hear other Council okay thank you ma'am you may be excused thank you right your next Witness yeah I'd like to call John Walsh you raise your right hand your honor may

1:33:20 we take a quick five minute break so that I can use the restroom I apologize just before he starts testifying all right we'll be in brief recess thank you your honor thank you foreign okay oh foreign foreign foreign foreign teachings much oh in the house baby yeah we just got here you know that you can thank you thank you foreign foreign are we all ready to go back on the record yes thank you your honor all right Mr Walsh if you're at your right hand to swear or affirm the information you're about to give as the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do

1:41:51 foreign Mr Walsh do you recall executing an affidavit in this case sorry uh what affidavit you recognize this affidavit I do okay I just want to ask you some weird questions did you pay approximately 260 000 for the property I did um and in paragraph three this affidavit I'd like you to read that aloud I had the respondent's name placed on the warranty deed as a tenant in common with myself I did as for the sole purpose and at the suggestion of my financial planner to assist the respondent in raising her credit score no that's fine we can stop there is that true and correct yes yes

1:42:57 um did you deem the property to be a gift to miss Walsh no did you deem it to be an investment property of yours yes did you do anything unique to that home that would have been different than what you've done to any other investment properties you'd owned no I maintain all my properties as best I can in your affidavit you said you spent approximately 134 741 and 66 cents in maintenance and other expenses is that true and accurate it is and you're asking to be reimbursed for approximately 50 of that minute proceed is that correct I am and that sum is 67 370 83.

1:43:45 that's right is that correct yes sir I have nothing further your owner all right any cross yes your honor sure have you ever put your daughter's name on any other properties that you own oh man okay and one of the things that you're asked asking for reimbursement is housekeeping correct yes ma'am and that's in the amount of fifteen thousand three hundred and forty dollars that was what that was what took to keep the place clean and sanitary for the three children living there having a so you can make those payments correct my property I wanted to keep it clean my daughter was unable to do that did you

1:44:38 ever ask your daughter to make any of those payments in the beginning we had a discussion where I sent her cash so that she could build up her credit card she failed to pay the bills that came directly to her they shut off the power she was supposed to pay those bills they shut off the power with three little children in there so that's when the objection your honor as to narrative and non-responsive overall I worried about the safety of the children so we stopped giving Megan money that she spent on God knows what what she led the power and the water be

1:45:13 shut off with three infant children sir do you have a written agreement that your daughter was supposed to pay for any of the electric or the handyman or the housekeeping or the utilities or the lawn care yes I I said we're going to keep this place salable you're and why do you stay in it because you're my daughter so it's got to be kept up in case I need to sell it okay and where is that in writing it's not in writing it's face to face okay and did you ever and you're asking now for half of the housekeeping bill

1:45:54 are you famous a house she had multiple cats and cat species in the garage it was a toxic waste dump and I had to pay for those housekeepers when did the housekeepers start when did you start paying for the housekeeper when she had been in the property a couple weeks I don't remember so in 2016 probably okay over five over six years ago I'm not sure did you ask for reimbursement regarding the garage that you paid 656 dollars for no I told her I'm getting it fixed I didn't need her I didn't need her permission to fix the house I bought the house

1:46:42 right but she owns half the house correct that calls for a legal conclusion sustain but she's listed as a tenant in common and she correct yep okay or one specific purpose okay but you didn't put that specific purpose in writing I just read it I didn't put anything in writing with your daughter did you probably not okay so there was no agreement that Miss Walsh was supposed to pay for things in writing correct verbal agreement and verbal agreement she would maintain the property which okay but from six years ago you're asking to being reimbursed and I'm asking if there was a written agreement Jackson has

1:47:36 a couple times overall we had a verbal agreement face to face on many of the things okay I'm going to ask again is there anything in writing writing that doesn't have to do directly with the house for example housekeeping not to my knowledge and did you ever ask your daughter for a money prior to this lawsuit for the house no okay and in the uh right back one moment you're honor I apologize so now you stated in your affidavit that the respondent could move into the property temporarily so long as she maintained a stable and healthy

1:48:37 lifestyle for both herself and her children and paid for the applicable expenses that's in your affidavit correct number four yes did Miss Walsh ever pay for any expenses I'm not sure I'm not sure they were the agreement was to try to get a job she had three children by deadbeat dads no income I said as soon as you can do this I'm gonna give you the chance to make get a job start working you got a nanny there's no reason you don't can't get a job and let's maintain this property okay okay but she didn't correct you paid for everything she didn't because multiple nannies quit

1:49:26 because of the condition of the objection in your honor I it's non-responsiveness overall she didn't take care of the house one example I put in generator the garage was receptionist your honor I I didn't ask that you asked a question was she maintaining the house I was asking if she ever paid to maintain the house I didn't ask that's a different question so sir if you can answer that new question okay give it to me again I'm really confused did Miss Walsh did you ever ask her to pay for any of the expenses objection our house can answer the same question has been asked four times now the same

1:50:16 sir did you choose to put defense in or did Miss Walsh ask you to put the fence in both "[Music]" it it UPS the value of properties and it also creates such secure property okay prior to filing this lawsuit did you ever talk to your daughter about selling the house yes yes and did you come to an agreement what was your agreement if you did because she wasn't maintaining the house property people wouldn't work on it because one guy had to buy a hazmat suit to work in the garage I'm going to sell the house I'll give you plenty of time to get out and how much time did you give her I forget

1:51:05 a couple months her name was on the beat so you really it's not up to you alone whether or not she has to leave the house objection calls for a legal conclusion sustain did you do you believe that you have the authority to remove her from the house I think so and you only did all of this after she cut off contact with you and your wife correct objection outside of scope of directing relevance all allow this one question but I'm we're here on just a different whole different elements of proof then what you're asking about so I'll allow this this question but I'm unclear

1:51:53 your path does not seem directed to go to any element of proof okay that's that's fair your honor I can I can ask another one "[Music]" okay foreign "[Music]" yes uh did you pay at the same time you purchased the house with Miss Walsh did you pay for Miss Walsh to have a car we're here for the practitioners I'm unclear because it's reasonably calculated to lead to any part of my decision making on the cause of action that I'm here for when where I'm going with it's your honor is that he's always given her gifts and how would she expect this not to I mean I'm going that's where I'm going with this that he gives her everything he pays for everything but do

1:52:53 the Rules of Evidence allow this line of questioning I believe they do to show what was in my client's mind at the time and he's testifying as to whether or not he has in fact purchased other things for him her which which rule of evidence are you specifically referring to yeah I mean I'm not it's not hearsay it's I'm asking him if he has purchased other things for her I I guess I don't have Mr Hayden what was your actual objection it was my objection was to relevance because we were here for a partition or

1:53:39 the adjudication of net proceeds from a partition of a property it's sustained foreign claiming though that it was a resulting trust and we're claiming that it was a gift and So based on Mr Walsh's actions with other things I do believe that this is appropriate response we're not here for a resulting Trust on a car we're here for the adjudication of the net proceeds of this specific property this case and I understand because these types of cases take on almost a dissolution of marriage type Mantra but we are here for a very specific thing under a very specific statute going into cars or any other issues getting well outside of what the

1:54:29 court needs to look at and is obliged to look at to adjudicate the party's uh entitlement and that proceeds from the sale agreed the objection is sustained nothing further for this all right any nothing further your honor any redirect uh know your honor I do need to State though that we were the only party that filed the witness list or an exhibit list and so we would object to any Witnesses being called by the respondent she did not comply with the pre-trial order she did not file a witness list or an exhibit list to allow her to call witnesses at this time would be a surprise at trial are you resting your case yes your honor all right

1:55:11 and Council would you like to respond yes your honor I was under yes there was not a witness list filed I was not the original attorney however I'm not calling any Witnesses I'm the only person I'm calling is Miss Walsh and that is not a surprise or a Prejudice to anyone as they listen to the parties and their witness list and I'm entitled to call anyone on their list yeah I do not believe we listed Miss Walsh in our witness list and so when was the witness list filed Council Let's see we filed our original witness list for the original trial date would have been I Believe on

1:55:52 pair with music there was one filed on February 3rd 2022 and an amendment to a witness list filed July 18 2022 and then the final Amendment on 8 26 2022. I'm looking at the clerk of court record with the filing of 826 and I do not see Miss Welsh listed your honor she's still a party and there is no Prejudice to the other side to not allow her however there is a great Prejudice to my client if she can't testify well it court is not a circus is there any reason why you didn't actually file a witness and exhibit list I

1:56:42 unfortunately I have to say that this is my own fault I was under the impression that one had been filed in February of 2021 or 2022 I mean okay well when you took over the case you took over the case with the responsibility and I get money of record and so you had a responsibility to to actually file an exhibit list or a witness list and by not doing so does result in surprise in a final trial which is what we're here for therefore for failure to follow the rules of the Court your client will not be allowed to testify all right do we have closings

1:57:20 yes sir I'm ready yes this is an action for partitionable property at issue is the adjudication the party's respective equities and net proceeds the testimony is clear that this was a cause of resulting trust Mr Walsh paid the purchase price of the property and was forced to pay for all the maintenance and upkeep this is not a situation of just Mr Walsh's testimony if you recalls Walsh had listed her cooperating witnesses as Steve renick Nicholas Hall Kathleen Powell none could testify this was a gift the court also heard from Jackie Bragg with all the expenses that were paid these were customer expenses that Mr Walsh would have paid for any of his investment properties the testimony simply does not

1:58:02 support the respondent's contention of the purchase of the property and the subsequent funds were a gift for the court to take that view it would have to disregard all the testimony and evidence it has received today but even if the court were disinclined to find that a resulting trust was created the court should consistent with the Florida partition Statute in case law require Miss Walsh out of her part of the net proceeds to reimburse Mr Walsh 50 of the purchase price of the property and 50 of the expenses he paid on the property further consistent with

1:58:35 the partial settlement agreement Miss Walsh is obligated to reimburse Mr Walsh with up to 10 000 in the movie expenses that he had to pay for her finally and consistent with Florida Statutes after chapter chapter 64 and the testimony of our attorney fee expert Mr Walsh is seeking to have his attorney's feasing costs awarded off the top the testimony record or clear Miss Walsh is actions necessitated Mr Walsh's expenditure of these attorneys fees and costs and she took positions and exacerbated the timely movement of this case thank you thank you your honor oh I'm sorry are you ready

1:59:12 for my clothes your honor based on all the evidence we've heard today there is no evidence that this is an investment property and there was no evidence that the parties had an agreement for a trust you're talking about a resulting trust I'm going to case law that states a resulting trust is usually when you put one person's name on something for another person that's not what we did here we had tenants in common your honor we have no written agreement between the parties none whatsoever as to who was to get what or pay for what yes under Florida law it does state that people

1:59:52 are to pay the property taxes or be reimbursed I understand that however it does not go into air conditioning or Comcast or fence Adam Spence or cleaning ladies that is not what this house has to do and Mr Walsh is not entitled to a reimbursement rather what he it's a gift which he's done for his daughter his whole entire life this is nothing more than a gift he should not be given any special Equity or any special amounts out of this money rather the ten thousand dollars they agreed on should go to Mr Walsh off the top that is not argumentative that is a signed agreement by both parties other than that the 10 000 each party

2:00:39 should be responsible for their own lawyers fees and each party should also be responsible for what they've paid for in the past and not attributed as a credit because it was a gift as Mr Walsh has done his entire life for his daughter and just because things or he's unhappy with her doesn't mean that he can change it from a gift to an investment property which is what they are trying to do today I'd ask that you take the ten thousand off and that you split the rest of the proceeds between the parties all right thank you very much I'm going

2:01:14 to take the matter under advisement please send in proposed final orders within seven days anything further we need to put on this record thank you for your time today thanks Joel thank you yes thank you thank you thank you all right