Proposition 202 Proposition Number 202 Attorneys' Contingent Fees. The amount of damages to be paid in a tort case may be determined by negotiation and settlement, court trial, or arbitration. Settlement may occur at any stage of the process. Generally, attorney contingent fees are negotiated between the plaintiff and the attorney.
Current law limits attorney contingent fees for tort cases only in medical malpractice cases.
In all cases, attorneys are required by law to provide written contracts that specify, among other things, the contingent fee agreed upon and the extent to which the plaintiff may be required to compensate the attorney for matters not covered in the contract. The court may reduce a contingent fee if it finds the fee unjust. This measure limits the amount of contingent fees attorneys representing plaintiffs could charge their clients when the defendant makes an early offer to settle the tort claim. Specifically, if the plaintiff accepts an early settlement offer, the attorney contingent fee would be limited to no more than 15 percent of the offer. If the plaintiff rejects an early settlement offer, the fee would then be limited to no more than 15 percent of the early settlement offer, plus an additional amount agreed to by the attorney and client.