Editing Contracts/Statute of frauds
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# those that follow the English statute and provide that "no action shall be brought" on the contract or the contract "shall not be enforced" | # those that follow the English statute and provide that "no action shall be brought" on the contract or the contract "shall not be enforced" | ||
# Those that declare contracts "void"<ref>3 Williston, Contracts §§526, 527 (3d ed. Jager 1960)</ref> | # Those that declare contracts "void"<ref>3 Williston, Contracts §§526, 527 (3d ed. Jager 1960)</ref> | ||
# Those that make the contract "voidable" at the affected party's election<ref>e.g. Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 82.065 (a)(b) (contingent fee contract for legal services. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.82.htm#82.065</ref> | # Those that make the contract "voidable" at the affected party's election <ref>e.g. Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 82.065 (a)(b) (contingent fee contract for legal services. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.82.htm#82.065</ref> | ||
=====Texas===== | =====Texas===== | ||
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The other rule that is in the nature of a statute of frauds governs fee agreements with clients when the attorney is to be compensated based on the outcome of the case. The Texas Government Code requires that "[a] contingent fee contract for legal services must be in writing and signed by the attorney and client." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 82.065(a).<ref>http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.82.htm#82.065</ref> | The other rule that is in the nature of a statute of frauds governs fee agreements with clients when the attorney is to be compensated based on the outcome of the case. The Texas Government Code requires that "[a] contingent fee contract for legal services must be in writing and signed by the attorney and client." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 82.065(a).<ref>http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.82.htm#82.065</ref> | ||
The classic example is a contingent fee contract in a personal injury case that provides for the claimant's lawyer to receive a certain percentage of the settlement amount (or of the amount awarded by judgment) net of litigation costs, with the percentages typically staggered and increasing based on whether a settlement was obtained before lawsuit is filed, after a lawsuit was filed but before trial, or whether a judgment favorable to the client was obtained through trial. The other scenario is a contingency fee contract based on cost savings achieved (for a client who is a defendant sued for a money judgment) or based on other specified litigation objectives. In those cases, the client will not recover any money from his opponent in the lawsuit, and will have to pay his attorney from his or her own funds in accordance with the terms of the agreement, once the matter is concluded favorably. When the client does not pay, some attorneys then sue the client on the contingency fee contract, or in quantum meruit in the alternative. See, e.g., Shamoun & Norman, LLP v. Hill, 483 S.W.3d 767 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2016), reversed on other grounds by Hill v. Shamoun & Norman, LLP, No. 16-0107 (Tex. April 13, 2018).<ref> | The classic example is a contingent fee contract in a personal injury case that provides for the claimant's lawyer to receive a certain percentage of the settlement amount (or of the amount awarded by judgment) net of litigation costs, with the percentages typically staggered and increasing based on whether a settlement was obtained before lawsuit is filed, after a lawsuit was filed but before trial, or whether a judgment favorable to the client was obtained through trial. The other scenario is a contingency fee contract based on cost savings achieved (for a client who is a defendant sued for a money judgment) or based on other specified litigation objectives. In those cases, the client will not recover any money from his opponent in the lawsuit, and will have to pay his attorney from his or her own funds in accordance with the terms of the agreement, once the matter is concluded favorably. When the client does not pay, some attorneys then sue the client on the contingency fee contract, or in quantum meruit in the alternative. See, e.g., Shamoun & Norman, LLP v. Hill, 483 S.W.3d 767 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2016), reversed on other grounds by Hill v. Shamoun & Norman, LLP, No. 16-0107 (Tex. April 13, 2018).<ref>http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1441370/160107.pdf</ref> The attorney-vs-client fee-dispute issue generally does not arise in personal injury cases because the settlement funds from the settling party or judgment-debtor are disbursed through the attorney of the party entitled to them, net of costs and the contingency fee component. | ||
====Uniform Commercial Code==== | ====Uniform Commercial Code==== |