McNiff v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc.
Illinois Appellate Court
892 N.E.2d 598 (2008)
Courtney McNiff (plaintiff) received a defective Mazda RX-8 as a gift, purchased by her grandfather from Sam Leman Mazda for $30,854, which malfunctioned even after an engine replacement. McNiff hired two attorneys under a 30-percent contingency-fee agreement and sued Sam Leman Mazda and Mazda Motor of America, Inc. (defendant) under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act; the parties settled when Mazda repurchased the car for $30,000. McNiff's attorneys then separately petitioned for statutory attorneys' fees far exceeding the contingency amount, and Mazda argued the contingency agreement capped what the attorneys could recover and that their billing records were too vague and their rates too high.
Whether a plaintiff who prevails on a Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claim is entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys' fees from the losing defendant.