Opinion ID: 1497136
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: ad litem

Text: In remanding this cause to the court of appeals, we note our disapproval of the court's refusal to award the attorney ad litem his fees. The court of appeals awarded the costs of appeal to Mrs. Cahill alone, citing Rule 89 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. [3] All costs of the appeal were taxed against the appellees, including those unknown defendants cited by publication. The court refused to award ad litem fees from the deposit in the registry of the court, which the attorney ad litem argues is contrary to Rule 244 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. [4] An attorney ad litem cannot as a practical matter recover his fees from his unknown clients. Our rules of civil and appellate practice therefore should be read to provide a reasonable fee and source of payment for the necessary efforts of an attorney ad litem. Under the court of appeals' analysis, appointed attorneys representing unknown parties would serve without compensation unless they were successful on appeal. Forcing attorneys to accept court appointment for a contingent representation, would surely frustrate the effective representation of unknown parties. On the other hand, sound policy considerations justify shifting the costs to the known parties. For example, a plaintiff utilizing service of citation by publication over unknown defendants cannot prosecute his or her lawsuit until the court appoints an attorney ad litem for the unknown parties. Tex.R.Civ.P. 244. Therefore good cause for assessing such costs against successful parties under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 141 and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 89 is ordinarily shown in such circumstances. For the reasons stated, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the cause to that court for consideration of Mrs. Cahill's factual sufficiency points.