Opinion ID: 836362
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: In re DEI'S ESTATE[32]

Text: Plaintiff asserts that if this Court holds that there is not a mutual and open account in the present case, then we will have to overrule In re Dei's Estate. We disagree. In Dei's Estate, an attorney performed legal services for his client from early 1925 to May 1933. The client made only two payments on the account in 1925. In 1935 the client died; however, the attorney was not made aware of the death until 1938, at which time he filed suit to collect the unpaid legal fees. This Court held that the attorney's cause of action on the mutual and open account did not accrue until the date of the last item of services that the attorney had performed for the client. [33] The central issue in Dei's Estate was whether the attorney's claim was barred by the statute of limitations, which required this Court to first determine whether the account was a mutual and open account current. This Court determined that, pursuant to 1929 CL 13977 (now codified as MCL 600.5831), there was a mutual and open account. Therefore, the attorney's claim for unpaid legal fees accrued on the last date that services were rendered. Contrary to plaintiff's contentions, we conclude that both the facts and the issues in Dei's Estate are distinguishable from those in the present case. In Dei's Estate, there was no contract between the attorney and the client, and there apparently was no agreement regarding the rate that the attorney would charge or when payment was due. Rather, the attorney would simply make entries in his day book after deciding on the value of his services. Furthermore, it was clear that the end of the attorney's services coincided with the termination of the attorney-client relationship. There was never a lack of mutuality between attorney and client, and the attorney-client relationship only terminated because the attorney's services ceased. Therefore, in Dei's Estate, this Court did not focus on the nature of the attorney-client relationship. Rather, it addressed the general issue whether the statute of limitations barred an attorney from recovering unpaid legal fees on what was clearly a mutual and open account. In contrast, it is apparent that the parties in the present case had a written agreement detailing rates and time for payment, and plaintiff brought this action to recover amounts it had charged defendant under the terms of that contract. Thus, it is apparent that Dei's Estate is distinguishable from the present case, and our decision today does not overrule settled precedent.