Bankers Life and Casualty Co. v. Borew
The Fourth DCA reversed a $2.57 million attorney's fee award in a long-term care insurance dispute. It held the trial court abused its discretion in applying a 2.5 contingency fee multiplier because no witness testified that the relevant market required a multiplier for the Borews to obtain competent counsel, and further held the fee award could not exceed the hourly rates ($450 attorney/$100 paralegal) the clients and counsel contractually agreed were reasonable, since the retainer contained no alternative fee recovery clause.
Key facts
- Bankers Life and Casualty Co. sued the Borews in a long-term care insurance dispute; the trial court awarded the Borews $2.57 million in attorney's fees based on a 2.5 contingency fee multiplier applied to hourly rates of $450 per attorney and $100 per paralegal.
- The Borews' retainer agreement specified fixed hourly rates that both parties agreed were reasonable and stated that counsel would accept court-awarded attorney's fees as its sole compensation.
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Why it matters
This is a useful defense-side weapon in any fee-shifting case: it reaffirms strict enforcement of the Joyce/Quanstrom relevant-market requirement and, more notably, clarifies what language qualifies as an 'alternative… — full analysis with a trial
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