Department of Corrections. We do not claim to be infallible, and thank a reader who recently drew our attention to our October 9, 2008 post on Lu v. Grewal. In our synopsis, we erroneously said “Plaintiff was unhappy, appealed, and lost,” whereas it should have said “Defendants were unhappy, appealed, and lost.” We do […]
Second District, Division 7 Upholds Attorney Lien Priority in Unpublished Decision. For those of you needing a primer on how potent attorney’s charging liens can be, we refers you to the recent unpublished decision in Johnson v. Jones, Case No. B208858 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Sept. 24, 2009) (unpublished). There, a judgment creditor
Third District Rules that Attorney’s Liens Have Priority Over Medical Liens in First Impression Case. In personal injury cases, there is an inherent tension between medical liens—contractual liens granted by injured patients to medical providers or assignees that attach to monetary recoveries in personal injury cases—and attorneys’ liens—contractual liens granted by clients to
February 2009 Article by Carole Buckner Covers Many Ethical Issues. In the February 2009 edition of the Orange County Lawyer, Carole J. Buckner writes an article, “Ethics Opinions Provide Guidance in Resolving Attorneys’ Fee Issues,” covering a wide-ranging array of ethical issues relating to attorney’s fees. Here is a synopsis of issues discussed
First District Also Discusses Impact of Unenforceable Attorney Lien Provision in a Contingency Fee Agreement. The First District, Division One—in a convoluted set of facts—recently decided a case involving charges of illegal retainer agreements (because tainted by prohibited legal referral actions) and unenforceable attorney lien provisions. The case is Shopoff & Cavallo LLP v.
Second District Affirms Lower Court Determinations in the “Wild One.” Who says that unpublished decisions lack drama and all of emotions that go with litigation, even in posttrial attorney’s fees proceedings. Not us, and the next case backs us up on this conclusion. Lu v. Grewal, Case No B201355 (2d Dist.,
Fourth District, Division Three So Holds in Unpublished Decision. The general rule is that an attorney claiming an attorney lien over settlement proceeds or a judgment must file an independent action to establish the existence and amount of the lien, with any order granting attorney’s fees in the main action being
Third District Finds That Attorney Lien Prevailed Over Bank’s Recorded Secured Interest and Notices of Judgment Lien. In our May 26, 2008 post, we reviewed Fletcher v. Davis and the requirements for creating an enforceable contractual lien for attorney’s fees. We noted that the attorney lien is a “secret” lien that
Contractual Attorney Lien Provisions in Fee Agreements Need to Comply Strictly With Dictates of Fletcher v. Davis. Many fee agreements that we see have contractual attorney lien provisions (sometimes called “charging liens”). Charging liens are liens given by clients to attorneys so that the attorneys can recover fees from settlement or
