Booker v. Midpac Lumber Co. Ltd
Hawaii Court of Appeals
716 P.2d 168 (Haw. Ct. App. 1986)
R.G. Booker hired attorney D.N. Ingman on a one-third contingency fee to sue Midpac Lumber Co. for personal injury. Ingman did substantial work initiating the suit before Booker fired him without cause and hired new counsel. Ingman filed a lien to recover his fee under the contingency contract; when Booker asked the trial court to fix Ingman's fee and remove the lien, the court refused to consider either Ingman's share of time spent compared to the new firm's (because the case hadn't concluded) or the case's estimated $100,000 value, and instead awarded Ingman only $1,500 based solely on his 25 billed hours. Ingman appealed.
Whether a court determining the fee owed to a discharged attorney under a reasonable-fee rule may consider only the time the attorney spent on the case, ignoring other relevant factors like the fee agreement and the case's potential value.