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McDowell v. McDowell & Walker, Inc.
Citations: 75 A.D.2d 979; 428 N.Y.S.2d 367
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; May 29, 1980; New York; State Appellate Court
Cross appeals arose from a judgment by the County Court of Delaware County favoring the plaintiff, entered on March 13, 1979. The plaintiff, attorneys retained on a contingent fee basis by the defendant corporation in February 1976, was to receive 25% of amounts collected before judgment and 33⅓% after judgment. The case involved a $3,000 promissory note executed by Alfred Pasciak. Following Pasciak's death and a subsequent substitution of his wife as the estate's administratrix, the court granted summary judgment against her on September 19, 1977. After the defendant corporation reclaimed its files, excluding the Pasciak file, its new attorneys fully recovered on the note in Surrogate’s Court but refused to compensate the plaintiff for their legal services. The plaintiff then sought recovery through Delaware County Court, claiming either on the contingent fee basis or under quantum meruit. The trial court dismissed the contingent fee claim, citing the plaintiff's failure to execute the judgment, but found the plaintiff entitled to recover the reasonable value of services rendered, determined to be $950. The court ruled that the defendant's non-payment was not in bad faith, as they believed their obligation was fulfilled by compensating their Surrogate’s Court attorneys, hence denying plaintiff costs. The trial court's discretion in awarding costs was upheld, but it erred by not adding interest to the damage award. The plaintiff, having won on the contract action, was entitled to interest from the earliest ascertainable date of the cause of action. The judgment was modified to reverse the denial of interest and remanded for interest computation per CPLR 5001, with costs awarded to the plaintiff.