Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
Normally you file a claim for reimbursement of attorney's fees with the court that decided the case. That's because that judge is already familiar with what occurred in the case and is best situated to determine if your opponent should be required to reimburse you and how much you should get reimbursed.
The first issue you'd need to do is identify a rule or contract provision that entitles you to attorney's fees. The general rule in this country is that each party bears his own lawyer's fees and costs regardless of the outcome of the case. There are, however, some exceptions that. Putting aside the contract cases, as this isn't a contract dispute, you'd need to find a statute, regulation, or case law that says you are entitled to attorney's fees in your situation.
If the reason that the case was dismissed was that it was frivilous that would typically be a situation in which you may get awarded attorney's fees. But as you've described things so far, it isn't obvious to me that the case against you was truly frivilous. Do you know why the lawsuit was dismissed? That's going to be important.
Second, generally parties seeking reimbursement of legal fees and costs often do not get all of what they seek even after they've found a rule that gives them grounds to seek reimbursement. The problem is that you chose the lawyer, you agreed to the lawyer's fee, and you and the lawyer agreed upon the work the lawyer did. The other party had no input into those decisions and thus no chance to reduce the costs you incurred. The other side should not have to pay more than a typical client would in that situation — if you agreed to a higher than average hourly rate, for example, the defendant shouldn't have to pay for your high price choice when the defendant had no role in selecting your lawyer.
As a result of that problem, courts generally try to base the award computations on objective factors independent of what you actually paid. In Michigan, like many other states, use what is known as the Lodestar rule to make that determination.. The short version of the rule is that the judge determines what a reasonable hourly rate is for the kind of lawyer needed for the case (lawyers that need to have specialized knowledge beyond that of a generalist attorney will usually get more, like patent lawyers) and the judge determines what work was reasonable for the attorney to do and how long it should have taken for the lawyer to do it. In particular, Michigan trial courts are directed to consider the following in their attorney fee computations:
- the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services,
- the difficulty of the case, i.e., the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly,
- the amount in question and the results obtained,
- the expenses incurred,
- the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client,
- the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer,
- the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances, and
- whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
In my state you could not pursue a claim for attorney's fees paid as a stand alone claim in small claims court. I don't know if Michigan would allow that, but you'll need to find out for sure before you start filing your complaint. You might need to bring the claim to the same court that handled the case against you, or if you can do it as a stand alone claim, you might have to do it in a court other than small claims. You'll need to determine the proper court in your state to pursue this and whether you do it as a motion (in the court that heard the case that resulted in the fees) or as a new complaint (pursuing it in some other court).
So start by finding out if there is some rule in Michigan law that allows you to pursue attorney's fees given the type of case you had and what the reason was for the dimissal. If there is a path to claim attorney's fees, be aware that you may not get all of what you seek because it's not as simple as showing the judge the lawyer's bill and the check you gave the lawyer to pay it. The amount awarded does not make that a big factor in what you get.
