COURT COSTS
 |
| Court House Costs |
While costs and procedures differ
materially from state to state, attorneys will usually request sufficient sums
to cover expenses for the filing fee, service of the summons and complaint,
costs for the entry of judgment, writ of execution, abstract of judgments, the
Marshal's or Sheriff's costs, etc. Court costs and Sheriff’s fees are
established by law and, if the client prevails, are chargeable to the debtor.
These costs are usually advanced by the
creditor. The cost advance requested is the average amount in the attorney’s
experience that is required to process a case of this size from the filing of
the suit through the recording of an abstract of judgment. Should it become necessary to obtain a writ
of execution or other process to enforce the court’s orders or judgment,
additional cost advances may be required. If, in the attorney’s professional
judgment, it becomes necessary for them to advance court costs to protect the
client’s interests or to expedite the client’s action against the debtor, the client
shall be expected to reimburse the attorney upon request. Where possible, most
creditor right’s attorneys will make
every attempt to allow the client the opportunity to approve or disapprove such
additional expenditures before they are incurred. Upon the conclusion of the
case, the prevailing attorney submits an accounting of all costs expenditures
to the court and they are included, together with statutory interest, in the
amount of the judgment. All such monies
advanced by you are held in the attorney's trust fund. Thus, at the conclusion of the case, an
accounting will be provided from counsel and any unexpended costs will be
refunded in full, as will any costs recovered from the debtor. It is important to note that authorization to
file suit by sending the documents and funds requested constitutes an
assignment to the attorney’s law firm of any attorney’s fees awarded by the
court and recovered from the debtor, which shall be in addition to other fees
and commissions. Should you have a
signed valid contract with the debtor calling for the cost of collection, such
is usually in addition to the above but does not cover any court awarded
attorney fees. Note that the
attorney’s normal contingent commission, excluding his suit fee and court
costs, are paid for out of the percentage fee quoted to you by your
professional collection agency for litigated matters.
SUIT FEE/RETAINER
This is a charge
by the attorney for the filing of suit and following through with litigation on
your behalf. Factors usually considered
in determining the amount of the suit fee include: How much work counsel has to
do in the way of drafting documents or rendering legal opinions; the attorney's
past experience with the debtor; the nature of the action being undertaken; the
size of the claim; is the claim disputed and what is the attorney's appraisal
of the validity of the dispute; the expectations of whether the claim will
necessitate a full trial on the merits.
Such fee is also required in the instance where counsel does not
recommend suit but, as a matter of principle, the client has decided to proceed
with litigation in any event. In this
scenario, the attorney charges a suit fee in order to assure himself of
adequate compensation for his services knowing that the chances for recovery
are negligible. Most suit fees are
non-contingent and are advanced by the creditor at the time that the costs are
submitted. In other words, the attorney
is entitled to the suit fee regardless of the outcome of the case. Standard retainers are 10% of the amount of
the claim; however, many professional collection agencies have negotiated with
attorneys special arrangements depending upon the circumstances of the
case. In some instances, the suit fee
may be totally contingent upon collection or a portion (usually 5%) of the suit
fee will be non-contingent with the balance being contingent upon
collection. In certain instances, an
attorney may waive his suit fee entirely, but request an increased commission
contingent upon collection. The standard in most cases is to advance a 5%
non-contingent suit fee with the remaining being contingent upon collection.
The suit fee discussed above does not
include prosecution of a contested matter requiring extensive depositions,
discovery related court appearances, services rendered in connection with any
appeal of the case or services rendered in connection with any Bankruptcy
proceeding involving the Debtor other than the normal filing of a proof of
claim; nor does it include the defense of a counterclaim or cross-action or the
pursuit of ancillary or extraordinary remedies before or after judgment. In the event a contest develops, or the
Debtor files Bankruptcy, the attorney always reserves the right to request
additional fees for additional services necessitated by the contest. The amount of any additional fee will be
commensurate with the services to be rendered and unless extraordinary
circumstances arise, you will be informed of such and usually have an opportunity
to halt all actions before such charges are incurred. If a counterclaim or cross-action is filed in
which you desire our attorney to defend on your behalf, the attorney reserves
the right to do so at an hourly rate.
Once again, this is usually an agreed upon rate that is preapproved by the
client should the situation warrant such a defense.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell Us What You Think!