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Newcourt Financial, Inc. v. Canal Insurance
Citations: 341 Ark. 452; 17 S.W.3d 83; 2000 Ark. LEXIS 290Docket: 99-1249
Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas; May 25, 2000; Arkansas; State Supreme Court
Canal Insurance Company (Canal) sought a review of a court of appeals decision that remanded the case to the Crawford County Circuit Court to determine attorney's fees for Newcourt Financial, Inc. (Newcourt) under Ark. Code Ann. § 23-79-208. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the circuit court's decision, remanding it for a determination of attorney's fees, costs, and penalties. Newcourt has since petitioned the court for attorney's fees and costs incurred during the appeal, totaling $2,393.70, which includes $2,020.70 for record preparation, a $100 filing fee, and $273 for briefs. Under Ark. Sup. Ct. Rule 6-7(b), Newcourt is entitled to recover these costs. Newcourt seeks $15,000 in attorney fees and $585.42 in expenses, based on 135 hours of attorney work on the appeal. Canal disputes these amounts, claiming improper block-billing and excessive work. The court clarified that fees under Ark. Code Ann. § 23-79-208 are meant to reimburse policyholders for enforcing their contracts and to ensure competent legal representation, not to provide attorneys with a windfall. There is no fixed formula for determining attorney's fees, but relevant factors include attorney experience, time and labor, the amount in controversy, issue complexity, customary fees, and any time restrictions on the client. The statute allows for recovery of overdue benefits, damages, and reasonable attorney's fees if an insurer wrongfully refuses to pay benefits. In Parker v. Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co., the court established that there is no fixed formula for determining the reasonableness of attorney's fees, guided instead by various factors. Previous cases, such as Heslip and Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Alexander, support the awards of attorney’s fees based on trial actions, applicable to appeals as well. Newcourt's attorneys, James D. Bradbury and D. P. Marshall Jr., submitted billing records indicating significant work on the appeal. Newcourt voluntarily reduced its appeal fee by $6,691 to avoid duplicating time spent by both attorneys, decreasing the total hours billed from 193 to 135. The court awarded Newcourt attorney's fees at a standard rate of $75.00 per hour, totaling $10,125, along with $585.42 in expenses, granting the motion for fees, costs, and expenses on appeal.