Dist. Ct. abused its discretion in awarding plaintiff’s former attorneys full amount of fees contained in original contingent fee agreement, where said attorneys sought said fees under quantum meruit theory under circumstances where plaintiff had terminated said attorneys shortly before accepting defendant’s settlement offer that had been negotiated on behalf of plaintiff by his former attorneys. While said attorneys may ultimately receive entire contract fee, where, as here, they were terminated shortly before plaintiff had accepted instant settlement offer, remand was required because Dist. Ct. had failed to consider whether awarding full value of contingency fee was reasonable in light of five factors for determining fee award under quantum meruit theory, as set forth in DeLapaz, 917 N.E. 2d 93.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Attorney Fees