Lexplug logoLexplug

Kinsey v. Dixon

Louisiana Court of Appeal
467 So.2d 862 (1985)
ELI5:

Sections

Rule of Law:

While a contingency fee contract terminates upon the client's death, the attorney is entitled to recovery in quantum meruit, which may equal the full contractual fee if the attorney performed substantially all necessary work prior to the client's death.


Facts:

  • Cornelius Kinsey suffered injuries in an accident and hired attorney Bain to handle the claim under a contingency fee contract.
  • Bain negotiated settlement offers totaling $15,000 from the defendant's insurer and the underinsured motorist carrier.
  • Kinsey delayed accepting the offers due to ongoing medical treatments and the potential need for surgery.
  • Kinsey died of an unrelated illness while the settlement offers were still outstanding.
  • The insurance attorneys confirmed that the settlement offers remained open despite Kinsey's death.
  • The executor of Kinsey's estate accepted the exact settlement offers previously negotiated by Bain.

Procedural Posture:

  • Plaintiff filed a personal injury lawsuit in the trial court.
  • Following the plaintiff's death, the executor was substituted as the proper party plaintiff.
  • The original attorney intervened in the suit to claim his legal fees.
  • The trial court ruled in favor of the intervenor, awarding the fees.
  • The Estate appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

Locked

Premium Content

Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief

You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture

Issue:

Is an attorney entitled to the full value of a contingency fee agreement under quantum meruit when the client dies after settlement offers are made but before they are accepted?


Opinions:

Majority - Fred W. Jones, Jr.

Yes, an attorney may recover the full contingent fee amount under quantum meruit if that amount represents the reasonable value of services rendered. The court acknowledged the Estate's argument that a contract for legal services is a mandate that terminates upon the principal's death. Consequently, Bain could not enforce the contract itself but was relegated to a claim in quantum meruit (meaning 'as much as he deserved'). However, the court reasoned that quantum meruit is not strictly limited to an hourly calculation. In this specific instance, Bain performed every aspect of the legal work leading to the settlement. The Estate's new counsel performed only the ministerial act of accepting the offers Bain had already secured. Since Bain did 100% of the substantive work, the court applied the factors of Disciplinary Rule 2-106(B) and determined that the fee 'deserved' was equal to the original contractual maximum.



Analysis:

This case clarifies the application of quantum meruit in the context of attorney fees. While it adheres to the strict principle that death terminates an agency relationship (mandate), it prevents unjust enrichment by the client's estate. The court distinguishes this situation from Saucier v. Hayes Dairy Products, a leading Louisiana case involving two attorneys fighting over a fee. Unlike Saucier, where fees must be apportioned between conflicting counsel, here the original attorney did all the work, and the successor attorney claimed no fee. The decision establishes that 'reasonable value' can be synonymous with the 'contractual value' when the lawyer's performance is essentially complete before the contract is terminated by operation of law.

G

Gunnerbot

AI-powered case assistant

Loaded: Kinsey v. Dixon (1985)

Try: "What was the holding?" or "Explain the dissent"