Opinion ID: 1102999
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Is the Guardianship entitled to attorneys' fees?

Text: Duggins claims that the guardianship is not entitled to receive attorneys' fees for this appeal. We have long followed the rule that a prevailing party is not entitled to recovery of attorneys' fees in the absence of statute, contract or the assessment of punitive damages against the defendant. Stanton & Associates v. Bryant Construction Company, 464 So.2d 499, 502 (Miss. 1985); Bellefonte Insurance Company v. Griffin, 358 So.2d 387, 391 (Miss. 1978); Faulkner Concrete Pipe Company v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, 218 So.2d 1, 3 (Miss. 1969). In Grisham v. Hinton, 490 So.2d 1201, 1205-08 (Miss. 1986), we reaffirmed this rule, stating that the issue was a legislative one rather than one for the judiciary to resolve. However, this Court revisited the issue again in an analogous situation involving insurance bad faith case in Andrew Jackson Life Insurance Company v. Williams, 566 So.2d 1172 (Miss. 1990). In footnote 13 of Andrew Jackson, this Court stated: Conceivably, upon presentation of sufficient proof, consequential or extra-contractual damages (e.g., reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and other economic losses) may be awarded in cases involving a lack of a reasonably arguable basis-notwithstanding that the insurer is not liable for punitive damages. [citations omitted]. 566 So.2d at 1186. Since the language in the footnote clearly defines attorneys' fees as being of a consequential and not a compensatory nature, it appears that the Guardianship should be entitled to them under the right circumstances. The chancellor held that consideration of attorneys' fees for the guardianship's subsequent suit against Duggins should be reserved until the guardianship is made whole. We agree with the chancellor's wise decision. At the time the guardianship is restored, the chancellor should then consider the appropriate amount of attorneys' fees which should be afforded the guardianship's present counsel. The restoration of the guardianship to its original position includes covering the costs associated with this present appeal. It seems rather ludicrous that a guardianship which must sue in order to be made whole should be saddled with attorneys' fees for that purpose and the costs associated with pursuing this subsequent action. To do so would only serve to again deplete the guardianship's assets. We also affirm the chancellor's decision denying Barfield any attorneys' fees as a result of his representation of the guardianship. Following the restoration of the guardianship, the chancellor should consider an appropriate attorneys' fee with which to compensate Duggins for his services. Although Duggins may not be entitled to the entire 33% as agreed upon initially, we do note from the record that Duggins is entitled to some fee. The assets were not stolen from the guardianship until after the case had been settled and approved by the chancellor. Hence, the guardianship did benefit from Duggins' representation when it agreed to the $95,500 negotiated settlement. A possible method for determining the appropriate amount of attorneys' fees to which Duggins is entitled would be to compensate him on a quantum meruit basis. See Tyson v. Moore, 613 So.2d 817 (Miss. 1992). Further, the lower court on remand may want to review the monies paid to the parents of Maurice Kendall Washington to assure the court that monies were properly paid to the parents by the guardianship. Duggins remains at risk as long as the guardianship remains depleted. We see Duggins' best interests being protected only after the guardianship is restored to its original position. Therefore, we agree with the trial judge to first make the guardianship whole, so that every dime due the guardianship is in the account of the guardianship. Duggins' entitlement, (if any), to attorneys' fees should be considered only after the guardianship's assets are fully restored. Again, Duggins is not the victim. His lack of action and attention allowed the guardianship to be victimized. Further, we sadly note that his efforts to date have been almost totally to protect himself financially with little attention to restoring or protecting the guardianship. Duggins' actions following the discovery of his partner Barfield's fraud are as misplaced as his original association of Barfield. Mr. Duggins needs to join with the efforts of the Warren County Chancery Court in restoring the guardianship funds. Then and only then will the monetary claims of Duggins be considered. We therefore affirm the special chancellor's determination of Duggins' liability to the guardianship as a result of his joint venture/partnership with Barfield. We also affirm the chancellor's award of $53,089.00 to the guardianship, plus pre-judgment interest at the rate of eight percent, commencing on May 3, 1989. The chancellor calculated the amount needed to restore the guardianship to be $53,089. On remand, the chancellor may continue his review of the calculation of the exact amounts. Although we cannot determine from the record the exact amount required to fully restore the guardianship to its lawful position, we do know the guardianship is entitled to 100% of the assets rightfully belonging to it. We therefore affirm the lower court's decision, but do so under the assumption that the $53,089 figure determined by the lower court will in fact restore the guardianship to its original position. The $500 punitive damages award against Barfield and Duggins is affirmed. The matter is remanded for calculation of attorneys' fees to be awarded to the guardianship's present attorney for his work in restoring the guardianship to its original position and for further determination of fees to Duggins for his representation of the guardianship. AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART. HAWKINS, C.J., PRATHER, P.J., and SULLIVAN, McRAE, JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr. and SMITH, JJ., concur. BANKS, J., concurs in part with separate written opinion joined by DAN M. LEE, P.J.