Attorneys Did Not Present Any Evidence Of Hourly Rate Or Hours Worked; However, Costs Award Was Affirmed.
Pacific Attorney Group v. Nejad, Case No. G064975 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 14, 2026) (unpublished) is a good reminder of the type of evidence that discharged attorneys must present to obtain a quantum meruit damages award for unpaid fees. Former attorneys were engaged to represent defendant client in a personal injury lawsuit on a contingency basis. Client discharged the attorneys, reaching a settlement directly for $61,000 with an insurance company and not paying anything to his former attorneys. Attorneys filed a lawsuit alleging various torts, breach of the retainer contract, unjust enrichment, and other theories. After client did not appear at a one-day bench trial, the lower court awarded attorneys $60,000 in damages based on a $100,000 settlement, even though the amount should have been $40,000, and $4,482.60 in costs.
Client appealed, which was a prudent move. The 4/3 DCA, in a 3-0 opinion authored by Presiding Justice Motoike, reversed the $60,000 award as a matter of law for insufficient evidence. The reason? Attorney failed to present any evidence about the number of hours worked, the respective billings rates, or the reasonableness of the total fees allegedly incurred by the attorneys, requirements under a quantum meruit theory relating to recovery by discharged attorneys. (Mardirossian & Associates, Inc. v. Ersoff, 153 Cal.App.4th 257, 272 (2007).) However, the costs award was warranted, so that component was affirmed on appeal.