Thursday July 29 , 2010
  • attorneys’ fees and costs
  • your damages
  • remedies
  • Why You Should Sue
ImageAttorney Fees

Attorney fees are what we are paid for our work. In most consumer rights matters, that is paid by those we sue (the defendants.) If we cannot prevail for you, you need not be concerned. You will not have to pay them.

ImageFiling Fees & Costs

Filing fees are fees that must be paid to the court. Other costs include service of process fees, court reporter fees, deposition fees, expert fees, and alike. But again, if we do not win the case for you, you will not be expected to pay these.

ImageStatutory Damages

Statutory damages are awarded in many consumer cases by statute. They are damages that are presumed to have occurred.

ImageActual Damages

Actual damages are damages that occur to you, personally. Stress and emotional injuries, embarrassment, or physical injuries are actual damages.

ImagePunitive Damages

Punitive damages are a form of punishment. They are meant to deter the defendant from doing this to you or other again in the future.

ImageMonetary Awards

The most common form of remedy to you is money. The court will award you money in an attempt to compensate you for your injuries. It may also award you money to punish the defendant for its illegal conduct.

ImageInjunctive Relief

The court may also impose an injunction on the defendant requiring it to do something or to refrain from doing something. One common injunction is to order the defendant to stop engaging in certain illegal conduct.

ImageLawsuits Do More Than Just Help You

Consumers sometimes view suing as a bad thing - like it is greedy. You shouldn't view it that way. When you sue you do more than just put money in your pocket. You hurt the defendant financially. You send a clear message – "Stop Doing This!" Companies often only stop when it costs them money, and suing does other consumers a service. You are also doing law abiding companies a favor. When competitors violate the law it disadvantages law abiding companies - and it tempts those companies to break the law too, just to keep up. It's possible that if someone else had sued before, what happened to you wouldn't have happened at all.

Attorney Fees

When you hire an attorney, that attorney is providing you his or her expertise and advice, and you should expect to be charged for the time that an attorney expends on your behalf because this is how he or she gives you the benefit of their counsel and experience.  Generally, there are three different ways that attorneys charge fees:
  1. on a contingency basis;
  2. on an hourly basis;
  3. on a fixed fee basis.

Contingency fee cases are generally limited to consumer litigation, personal injury cases employment cases, worker's compensation cases, and civil rights matters.  In these types of cases, there is some expectation that you will receive some financial award either by settlement or by judgment from a court or jury.

In contingency fee cases, the attorney assesses whether or not he or she believes that you have reasonable chance of succeeding.  If the attorney feels that you do have a reasonable chance, the attorney may take your case by investing his or her time without a fixed payment from you up front.  Basically the attorney is counting on being paid from a percentage of any award which you receive from a settlement or from a court.  In some cases there is a cap or limit on the percentage or the dollar amount that an attorney is permitted to charge.  You should ask the attorney if there is such a limit and what it is.  In most personal injury cases, there is not a limit on what the attorney can charge.  If your case is lost, the lawyer is paid nothing for his or her time.

Hourly cases are different.  Attorneys charge an hourly rate for most standard routine matters.  The amount your attorney charges per hour will be determined by a number of factors.  The most important factor is his or her experience in the type of matter for which you are being represented.  Another factor will be the generally accepted charges for similar matters in your legal community.  In most hourly cases, your attorney will request that you pay a retainer fee up front against which the attorney will bill his or her time.  When your attorney is charging you an hourly rate, you should always ask your attorney to periodically provide you with an itemized statement of the time which he or she has expended on your behalf.

Fixed fee cases.  Sometimes, attorneys will charge a fixed fee.  That is, a one time lump sum payment.  Attorneys charge a fixed fee for standard routine matters such as wills, deeds, the search of a real estate title, representing you in a simple bankruptcy, drafting a basic contract, traffic offenses, or minor criminal matters. These are some but not all of the examples of tasks for which an attorney may charge you a fixed fee.

Whenever you believe that you need an attorney, you should discuss attorney's fees during your first conference with the attorney. You must clearly understand the way in which the attorney intends to bill you for handling your legal matter. You should expect to sign an agreement with your attorney regarding fees so that both you and your attorney have a clear understanding of what to expect. In some cases, a contract of representation between you and your attorney is not required.

You should never be afraid to discuss attorney's fees or to negotiate attorney's fees with your attorney at the beginning of your representation. Having a clear understanding between you and your attorney on the issue of fees will assure a good working relationship between you and your attorney.

Generally, Hyde & Swigart Charges Attorney Fees As Follows.

Below are guidelines to help you anticipate what might be expected of you with regard to attorneys’ fees.  However, because we want to help you if you need us, we can sometimes be flexible in these arrangements.  If you feel you need some flexibility, be sure and discuss this with us during your first consultation with us.  Keep in mind that we never charge anything for a case evaluation.

Consumer Cases (Debt Collection Abuse, Debt Negotiator Lawsuits, Cases In Which We Represent You Suing Others) – These cases are taken on a contingency fee basis,  Our office pays the costs up front with the expectation that we will be reimbursed if we prevail.  We keep track of the attorney fees incurred and attempt to have the opposing party pay them.  In these cases, if we do not prevail you are not expected to reimburse us.  In that situation, we waive the attorneys’ fees and costs.

Credit Card Defense Cases (You Are Being Sued By A Debt Collector or Creditor, Cases In Which We Represent You And You Are Being Sued) – These cases are taken on a fixed fee basis,  Our office pays the costs up front with the expectation that we will be reimbursed if we prevail.  We keep track of the attorney fees incurred and attempt to have the opposing party pay them.  In these cases, if we do not prevail you are not expected to reimburse us.  In that situation, we waive the attorneys’ fees and costs.
In most credit card defense cases, you will be expected to provide an up front payment in the amount of 10% of whatever the debt is that is being sued upon, or a minimum of $750, plus any required court filing fee.  The court filing fees are normally around $200.  So, just as an example, if you are being sued for $8000, you would have to put up $800 plus a $200 court cost fee for a total of $1000.

It is possible that we will be able to recover that money from the other side if we win.  If that happens we will give you a refund. The reason we are sometimes able to recover our attorney fees and costs is that the contract involved in the lawsuit sometimes requires this. Furthermore, if there is any possible way to countersue the creditor and recover money under the debt collection statutes, we will also be able to recover our attorney fees and costs.

Don't be too concerned about what is going to cost until you speak to us first. We never charge you for a consultation, and during that consultation you can be sure that we will advise you on our opinion of your legal position, what we expect you to pay, and whether we expect to be able to recover what you pay back from the other side.

From The Desk Of Mr. Hyde

ImageOur Law Firm Is
Dedicated To Helping You

“If you are being abused by a debt collector, if you have been sued on a credit card debt, if a credit repair agency has taken money from you but done little, or if you have another consumer related issue, you need a law firm dedicated to consumer rights. That is what we do at Hyde & Swigart.  Call Us Today at (619) 233-7770 for a free consultation.”

From The Desk Of Mr. Swigart

ImageOur Firm Is Here To
Solve Your Problems

"That is why we don’t charge you to discuss your case.  If you have been treated unfairly by debt collectors, sued, or alike, you need not fear calling us.  We will listen to you, tell you if you have a case, and give you some options - all at no charge.  If you feel your rights are being violated, I urge you to call us today at (619) 233-7770 for a free consultation.”