Court Opinion

ID: 9714067
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:29:56.955404+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:23.081669
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE O’MALLEY, dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I would not send the case back for reconsideration but would affirm the trial court’s finding that no exceptional circumstances exist which would justify additional fees. However, I would reverse the lower court and hold that a one-third contingency fee should be awarded based upon the fact that the client signed a valid contract agreeing to the same. First, in my view, there is no reason to send this case back pursuant to any subsection of section 2 — 1114 (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1114 (West 2004)), or for any other reason. The record shows that the trial judge carefully considered everything plaintiffs proffered to show that their representation was exceptional; further, she repeatedly said that she had considered “everything.” The judge found that while these attorneys had done a good job which resulted in a favorable outcome for plaintiff, there was insufficient evidence of extraordinary work which would justify a fee larger than what the statute prescribes. The majority acknowledges, and I agree, that the standard which applies here is an abuse of discretion. Thus, if we were to reverse the trial court’s decision as to exceptional circumstances or the lack thereof, we would have to find that no reasonable court could have reached the same conclusion. Clay v. County of Cook, 325 Ill. App. 3d at 901, quoting Schwartz v. Cortelloni, 177 Ill. 2d 166, 176 (1979) (“ ‘[a]n abuse of discretion occurs when no reasonable person would agree with the position adopted by the trial court’ ”). While as a reviewing court, we may have reached a different conclusion, it is axiomatic that we should not substitute our judgment for that of the lower court, because it is almost always in a better position to assess the circumstances. See In re Marriage of Samardzija, 365 Ill. App. 3d 702, 708 (2006) (“Under the abuse of discretion standard, the question is not whether this court might have decided the issue differently, but whether any reasonable person could have taken the position adopted by the trial court”). In reviewing the evidence presented regarding the number of depositions, motions in limine, a single mediation and other work performed, this very experienced trial judge reached the conclusion that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Viewing the same evidence, I cannot say that no reasonable person could have reached this conclusion. Medical negligence cases routinely, or as a matter of course, require an enormous commitment in terms of time and money for lawyers who handle them. The lawyers presumably know this at the outset. In this case, the number of depositions, 45, and motions in limine, 29, and the length of the trial, 21/2 weeks, among other things, do not appear to be extraordinary for this type of litigation. In fact, the numbers in other cases are often well in excess of those documented in this case. The only unusual thing here is that a partner who had European commitments was assigned to this case and apparently did much commuting. This seems to be the firm’s choice and, in my view, does not represent any “extraordinary effort.” I would thus affirm the lower court’s ruling that no exceptional circumstances existed which would justify a larger than normal fee. In addition, because I believe the court examined all the factors initially, I would decline to send it back for another review. However, the client in this case signed a contract agreeing to pay the firm “one-third of the gross sum recovered.” No one, including the client, has challenged that. The supreme court has held that contingent fee agreements are appropriate so long as they are reasonable. Leonard C. Arnold, Ltd. v. Northern Trust Co., 116 Ill. 2d 157 (1987). One might speculate that the client was under some pressure to agree to a larger fee where his case had been declined by several other law firms and the statute of limitations was running imminently. An equally reasonable speculation is that the client was absolutely delighted to have found someone to champion his cause. However, this is pure speculation and there is no allegation or even suggestion here that this contract was not absolutely voluntary or that it was not reasonable. Therefore, I would reverse and award the additional fees requested by the law firm on the basis of this valid contract.