Due Process Compelled the “Scale Back.”
Marriage of Vidales, Case No. F064783 (5th Dist. Nov. 26, 2013) (unpublished) was a situation where a perfectly-proper “needs based” award of $15,000 was granted to ex-wife because ex-husband was behind on child support and had more income than ex-wife. However, the appellate court scaled back the award to $7,500 based on due process grounds: ex-wife had only asked for $7,500, and that is all she got!
On a procedural point, the appellate court disagreed that the lower court’s failure to rule within 15 days of a fee request (Family Code section 2030(b)(1) and (2)) was only directory, but not jurisdictional in nature such that a ruling after 15 days was not improper.