Cranmer v. Brothers
Cranmer v. Brothers
Opinion of the Court
This is an action by the plaintiff, an attorney at law, to recover from the defendant the value of legal services rendered the defendant, and money expended in his behalf for court fees. The defendant, in his answer, while admitting that the plaintiff performed services for him as an attorney, alleges they were performed under a special contract, in which the plaintiff agreed to foreclose a certain mechanic’s lien held by the defendant, and perform any and all work necessary in and for the complete foreclosure of said lien for $25. The defendant further alleges that he had paid said amount in work and labor, and set up a counterclaim for the balance due him on account of such work and labor. The counterclaim was denied by the plaintiff in his reply. The case was tried by jury, resulting in a verdict and judgment for the defendant, and the plaintiff appeals.
On the trial it was admitted by the plaintiff in his testimony that a part of the legal services performed by him for the defendant were performed under a special contract for the sum specified — that is,
The judgment of the court below, and the order denying a new trial, are reversed, and a new trial granted.
Reference
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. An attorney agreeing, for a fixed fee, to foreclose a mechanic's lien and “to perform any and all work necessary in and for the complete foreclosure” thereof, is not required to defend, without additional compensation, a motion, not based upon his errors, to vacate the judgment or foreclosure obtained by him. 2. In an action for legal services it appeared that plaintiff had agreed for $25 to foreclose a •mechanic’s lien. For successfully resisting a motion to vacate the judgment of foreclosure obtained by him he demanded additional compensation. The defendant claimed that the motion was based upon plaintiff’s errors, and showed that while it was pending he made an affidavit setting forth some mistakes in the proceedings. The plaintiff denied committing any errors. Held, that as the denial of the motion to vacate the judgment was prima facie evidence that plaintiff had committed no error, the evidence was insufficient to warrant an instruction denying additional' compensation. 3. Where, in an action for legal services rendered in defending a motion to vacate a judgment of foreclosure obtained for a fixed fee, the verdict was for less than the amount claimed for compensation for such services, an instruction denying the right to compensation therefor was prejudicial.