Opinion ID: 1376262
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Requirements of a Prima Facie Case

Text: Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party demonstrates that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Peck v. Title USA Ins. Corp., 108 N.M. 30, 32, 766 P.2d 290, 292 (1988). The moving party must first make a prima facie showing of entitlement to summary judgment. Id. If a prima facie case is made, the burden shifts to the party opposing summary judgment to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact. See id. Accordingly, when Hinkle moved for summary judgment on its complaint, it had the initial burden of showing that no genuine issues of material fact existed and that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The first issue debated by the parties is whether Hinkle's burden of showing that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law required it to demonstrate the reasonableness of its fees. Cadle, citing Calderon v. Navarette, 111 N.M. 1, 800 P.2d 1058 (1990), asserts that an attorney seeking to recover on a contract with a client has the burden of proving that its fees are reasonable. See id. at 3, 800 P.2d at 1060 (It is fundamental that the attorney bears the burden of proving the value of the legal services rendered.). Hinkle responds by distinguishing Calderon, in which an attorney sought recovery based on quantum meruit, from the present situation, in which Hinkle seeks recovery based on contract. It argues that the attorney in Calderon, by suing in quantum meruit, placed the value of his services in issue. In contrast, Hinkle argues that because it is suing in contract, it has not placed the value of its services in issue and therefore should not bear the burden of proof of reasonableness. We think that Hinkle bore the burden of establishing the reasonableness of at least part of its fee. As stated above, the fee agreement was not for an agreed amount. While the parties apparently agreed to an hourly rate, they did not agree to the number of hours to be expended. Hinkle had the burden of establishing the reasonableness of the terms not expressly agreed to by the parties, i.e., the burden of showing that the amount of time expended was reasonable and that the time was fairly and properly used. See Jacobs v. Holston, 70 Ohio App.2d 55, 434 N.E.2d 738, 742 (1980) (when attorney and client had agreed to a fee based on a stated hourly rate, attorney seeking to enforce the agreement had burden of proving reasonableness of time expended). We further believe that Hinkle met its burden of showing reasonableness. Cadle argues that the affidavit of Stuart Shanor, who stated that Hinkle's charges were reasonable in amount and necessarily incurred, was conclusory and insufficient to establish reasonableness. Cadle asserts that the attorney must present evidence substantively supporting the reasonableness of the fee. We agree that Shanor's affidavit alone was insufficient to prove reasonableness. However, Cadle virtually ignores the additional substantive evidence that Hinkle submitted in support of its motion: the monthly invoices that itemized the tasks performed by Hinkle, the attorney who performed each task, the amount of time expended on each task, and the amount billed for each task. Those invoices, along with Shanor's affidavit, established that Hinkle had performed its claimed legal services and that those services were reasonable in amount. It would be impractical to require Hinkle to present more detailed evidence, as suggested by Cadle, of the skill involved in the various tasks Hinkle performed and the results it obtained. Accordingly, we find that Hinkle presented a prima facie case of the reasonableness of its fees, and that the burden then shifted to Cadle to show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact on this issue.