Lawyer suing over no payment

[Mary57]

Jurisdiction

Florida

A friend of mine referred a lawyer so he can review my business lease, on the phone attorney said he will charge me $300 for the lease and with negotiations $500 flat rate. He email me saying he will make an agreement that will explain fees, but never sent me the agreement, I was happy with the price, I emailed him the lease and asked him again to let me know the charges, and work on my lease ASAP, instead of sending me the invoice and agreement he reviewed my lease and said he worked on the lease for 5 hours and he's gonna charge me $1500 total, I was shocked to see this, I disagree with him because on the phone he told me $500 flat rate, now he's disputing this in court, my question is I never signed an agreement nor he gave me the final charges before he worked in my lease, can he still sue me? What are the chances of me winning this?

 

[army judge]

Any adult can sue another adult.

Usually one party prevails, sometimes no one prevails.

In small claims court prevailing depends on which party lies better.

If I were a gambler, I'd bet my dollar on the lawyer.

We get training in lying well.

 

[adjusterjack]

He email me saying he will make an agreement that will explain fees, but never sent me the agreement,

You should have stopped right there and insisted on the fee schedule in writing.

NEVER commit to anything based on a phone conversation.

he worked on the lease for 5 hours and he's gonna charge me $1500 total, I was shocked to see this

So am I. I can review a commercial lease and point out its issues in a lot less than 5 hours and I'm no lawyer.

I never signed an agreement

You don't have to sign a contract to have a contract.

can he still sue me?

Sure.

What are the chances of me winning this?

Getting sued by a lawyer? Slim to none.

However, I suggest you nip this in the bud by filing a fee dispute (ASAP) with the Florida Bar:

https://www.floridabar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Agreement-to-Arbitrate.pdf

 

[zddoodah]

can he still sue me?

Yes. Anyone can sue anyone for anything.

What are the chances of me winning this?

67.231%.

 

[mightymoose]

Yes he can certainly sue, but that doesn't mean he will automatically get what he wants. You will have opportunity to explain your side in small claims court if he actually does drag you in there. I would expect this to be resolved in mediation, but if it actually gets to a judge he/she can determine a fair cost and implement that. You might be sued for $1500 and still end up paying only $500. Expect to pay something though- assuming you actually received the product of the time spent on your issue.