Arbitrator Auditing Attorney’s Bills Did Not Have To Disclose Work Where Audits Did Not Favor Plaintiffs Or Defendants From Overall Practice Skill Set.
In Baxter v. Bock, Case Nos. A142372 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 1 May 18, 2016) (unpublished), former attorney and ex-client engaged in a mandatory fee arbitration under the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act (MFAA), where client was determined to owe nothing more. Many claims of error were made, but were rejected on appeal with one correction. The first was that the arbitrator had to disclose that he audited attorney bills and wrote about attorney overbilling. The appellate court disagreed, because the arbitrator only reviewed attorney bills for losing parties in “prevailing party” litigation situations, such that his work did not favor either plaintiffs or defendants. The second was that the arbitrator failed to award similar hourly rates for attorneys of comparable experience and skill sets, an argument that resonated with the appellate court so as require a limited remand on this one issue.