Case Name: In re Attorney Fees of Ujlaky
Court: Michigan Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Decision Date: 2015-09-30
Citations: 498 Mich. 890
Docket Number: No. 150887; Court of Appeals No. 316494
Parties: In re Attorney Fees of Ujlaky,
Judges: 
Reporter: Michigan Reports
Volume: 498
Pages: 890–890

Head Matter:
In re Attorney Fees of Ujlaky,
No. 150887; Court of Appeals No. 316494.

Opinion:
Pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals as to Docket No. 316494, and we remand this case to the Kent Circuit Court for a determination of the reasonableness of the attorney fees requested. The trial court applied the county's fee schedule, which capped compensation for plea cases at $660, but did not address at all the reasonableness of the fee in relation to the actual services rendered, as itemized by the appellant. See In re Recorder's Court Bar Ass'n, 443 Mich 110, 131 (1993). Although the expenditure of any amount of time beyond that contemplated by the schedule for the typical case does not, ipso facto, warrant extra fees, spending a significant but reasonable number of hours beyond the norm may. On remand, the trial court shall either award the requested fees, or articulate on the record its basis for concluding that such fees are not reasonable. See, e.g., In re Attorney Fees of Mullkoff, 176 Mich App 82, 85-88 (1989), and In re Attorney Fees of Jamnik, 176 Mich App 827, 831 (1989). We do not retain jurisdiction.