Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fees

Jul 23, 2019

4th Circuit chops fees for limited success

A federal appeals court has underscored its insistence that attorneys’ fee awards take into account just how far short of the target a plaintiff’s arrow falls. Judges must compare the amount of damages sought to the amount awarded, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals emphasized in a federal Fair Labor Standards Act class action […]

Jan 30, 2019

Court says board must hear fee dispute

A Lexington attorney who filed a collection action against a client in circuit court didn’t waive her right to have the state bar settle a dispute over the underlying fee, the South Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled. Lisa Moore retained Jean Derrick to represent her in a family court matter in 2011. They signed […]

Jan 24, 2019

Malpractice suit over fee agreement dismissed

It’s not every day that you see a judge support a legal conclusion by citing Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” but one South Carolina Court of Appeals judge was unusually pointed in his language—sharper than a serpent’s tooth, one might say—while affirming a lower court’s ruling dismissing a lawsuit brought against a quartet of attorneys in the […]

Oct 11, 2018

Appellate filing fees hiked

The South Carolina Supreme Court has raised some of the filing fees in the appellate courts for the first time in decades. The filing fees for filing a notice of appeal and for filing a petition for a writ of certiorari have been increased from $100 to $250. The fee for filing motions in the […]

Sep 5, 2018

Former S.C. attorney can pursue Minn. firm over fee split

  A former Greenville attorney will be able to move ahead with his lawsuit against a Minnesota law firm alleging that the firm interfered with his ability to collect fees he was owed from a case that settled years after he quit practicing. David Flowers of Greenville placed himself on inactive status with the South […]

Jun 19, 2018

IRS ordered to pay $61K to disbarred SC lawyer

The IRS has been ordered to pay more than $61,000 in attorneys’ fees to a disbarred South Carolina lawyer who operates a tax advisory firm that caters to American expats. “They gave us every dime we asked for,” said James Sexton’s attorney, Desa Ballard of Ballard & Watson in West Columbia. She had argued that […]

Feb 28, 2018

$2 million plus in fees

Two South Carolina agencies have spent nearly 15 years and millions of dollars fighting a disabled woman’s request for social services. So far, the agencies have lost three times at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and once at the South Carolina Supreme Court while racking up millions in legal fees and costs. The […]

Aug 28, 2017

Attorneys – Fees – Reasonable Rate – Intellectual Property – Contempt Proceedings – South Carolina Forum – Boston Attorneys – Intellectual Property

Nutramax Laboratories, Inc. v. Manna Pro Products, LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-114-17, 27 pp.) (J. Michelle Childs, J.) 0:16-cv-01255; D.S.C. Holding: When intellectual property lawyers litigate contempt proceedings, they are entitled to recover at the rate of general litigation attorneys, not at their regular rates. In any event, plaintiff’s attorneys have not shown what a […]

May 15, 2017

Attorneys – Fees – State Action Statute – Senators – Legislative Immunity

South Carolina Public Interest Foundation v. Courson (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-033-17, 6 pp.) (Thomas Huff, J.) Appealed from Richland County Circuit Court (G. Thomas Cooper Jr., J.) S.C. App. Holding: Plaintiffs were successful in having certain legislation (Act 17) declared unconstitutional. Where the state action statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-77-300, speaks in terms of […]

Nov 4, 2016

Trusts & Estates – Personal Representative – Fees – Estate Division – Attorney’s Fees

In re Estate of Kay (Sullivan v. Brown) (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-094-16, 18 pp.) (H. Bruce Williams, J.) (John Few, A.J.) Appealed from Laurens County (Donald Hocker, Probate Court Judge & Frank Addy Jr., Circuit Court Judge) Substituted opinion. S.C. App. Holding: Despite the will’s promise of “reasonable compensation” and despite a disagreement among the […]

Mar 7, 2016

4 ways to approach a fee-reduction demand

BOSTON, MA — Your client says, “Give me a 10 percent discount — or else.” What do you do? To put it simply: “else.” Clients who ask for a fee reduction don’t really understand how the issue of representation should be framed. The issue is not really so much what your fee is — that […]

Sep 30, 2015

Settlement sidesteps question of profit-driven prosecution

One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies was slated to challenge South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in the state Supreme Court a few weeks ago. The dispute centered on allegations of overzealous, profit-driven prosecution under the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. But the matter vanished from the court’s calendar following a last minute, multimillion-dollar […]

Business Law

See all Business Law News

Commentary

See all Commentary

Polls

How Is My Site?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...