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Guess v. Parrott9/16/2003
at 508, 385 S.E.2d at 490.
We note the case of Pryor v. Merten, quoted at length above, as an example. Pryor, 127 N.C. App. at 485-87, 490 S.E.2d at 592-93. That case involved a motion in the cause by the discharged attorney and a hearing before the trial court. It is unclear but doubtful that a request for a jury trial was made. As can be gleaned from the quote reproduced in section I, the position of the trial court is central to this inquiry. See also id. at 487, 490 S.E.2d at 592-93. Further, other jurisdictions recognize the role of the trial court in this situation. See Ingber v. Sabato, 229 A.D.2d 884, 887, 645 N.Y.S.2d 918, 920 (1996) (" he courts clearly `possess the traditional authority "to supervise the charging of fees for legal services" pursuant to their "inherent and statutory power to regulate the practice of law."'"). Id. (quoting Koral v. Koral, 185 A.D.2d 298, 299, 586 N.Y.S.2d 288, 290 (1992) (quoting Matter of First Natl. Bank v. Brower, 42 N.Y.2d 471, 474, 368 N.E.2d 240, 1242 (1977))); Wegner v. Arnold, 305 Ill. App. 3d 689, 693, 713 N.E.2d 247, 250 (1999) ("`The trial judge has broad discretion in matters of attorney fees due to the advantage of close observation of the attorney's work and the trial judge's deeper understanding of the skill and time required in the case.'"). Id. (quoting Kannewurf v. Johns, 260 Ill. App. 3d 66, 74, 632 N.E.2d 711, 716 (1994)).
The apportionment of attorneys' fees among the various lawyers who have represented a party has not been regulated by statute and is therefore within the province of the trial court. Accordingly, appellant had no right to have the reasonable value of appellee's services determined by a jury, as this issue is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court.
This assignment of error is overruled. III. & IV.
Appellant's final two arguments contend that the trial court erred in determining and awarding the $86,500.00 amount to appellee. We disagree.
We recognize that no case in North Carolina dealing with the discharge of an attorney who is rendering legal services pursuant to a contingency fee contract has specifically set forth any guidelines for the trial court to follow when determining the reasonable value of the discharged attorney's services. It is noted that North Carolina trial courts are not unfamiliar with such a position. Trial courts are often asked to exercise their discretion in awarding attorneys' fees. See, e.g., N.C. Gen. Stat. ยง 6-21.1 (2001) (allows trial court to award, in its discretion, attorneys' fees in a personal injury case when there was an unwarranted refusal by an insurance company in a suit and the recovery was less than $10,000.00); Washington v. Horton, 132 N.C. App. 347, 357, 513 S.E.2d 331, 334-35 (1999) (setting forth factors for the trial court to consider in making its award). The factors set forth in Horton do not necessarily set forth a proper guide in the current context as it deals with a much narrower determination because of the parameters set forth in the statute.
Courts from other jurisdictions have set forth factors helpful in the current situation. The New York case of Ingber v. Sabato states:
It is equally clear that the proper measure of plaintiffs' compensation is quantum meruit and that the amount to which they, as discharged attorneys who had been employed under a contingent fee contract, are entitled depends on the court's interpretation of various factors in its determination of the reasonable value of the services rendered. Such factors include, inter alia, the terms of the percentage agreement, the nature of the litigation, difficulty of the case, time spent, amount of money involved,
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