Wheeler v. Dovey
In a partition action, the trial court had granted the defendant daughter entitlement to attorney's fees, but she died before the amount was determined and the plaintiff then voluntarily dismissed. Her counsel nonetheless pursued the fee claim and obtained a $50,090.10 award. The Second District reversed, holding that the death of the client terminated the attorney's authority and, absent substitution of a proper party, no party entitled to fees remained before the court.
Key facts
- Plaintiff Wheeler and defendant daughter Dovey engaged in a partition action in which the trial court granted the daughter entitlement to attorney's fees, but the daughter died before the fee amount was determined.
- After the daughter's death, plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the partition action, but the daughter's counsel continued to pursue the fee claim and obtained a $50,090.10 award from the trial court.
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Why it matters
This decision gives practitioners a clear rule for the increasingly common scenario in which a fee-entitled party dies before the amount is fixed: counsel's authority evaporates at death and the fee claim cannot proceed… — full analysis with a trial
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