My lawyer has sued me for breach of contract

[mulchr]

What is the name of your state? CA

In Jan 2020 i retained counsel for a matter where two of my tenants had left, and illegally sublet my unit to new people.

In March 2020 covid hit and all cases came to a standstill. Opposing counsel sent us discovery requests, and my lawyer raked up almost 6K in fees just to respond to discovery. The extent of this billing was not disclosed to me until they invoiced me. But yes, the hourly rate they charged was in the minutae of the contract I signed with them. I told my lawyer not to spend anything in the 1000s without preauthorization as everythign was a standstill (courts, motions, etc). I asked my lawyer if we had to respond to discovery given that covid had put everythign on hold. But he said that we HAD to respond (this was around april/may/jun 2021 timeframe) or else we would be censured.
I grudgingly paid that bill.
The opposing counsel a few weeks later sent back clarification requests for discovery - and my lawyer called me again and said we had to respond to that, or else we would be censured by court, penalized etc. I asked them how much the charges would be and they said 2-3 hours of thier work (verbal conversation). I again grudgingly okayed these. A few months later I was send invoices for another 3200 worth of discovery response related charges.

The case was dragged up until March 2021 when we settled, on extremely unfavorable conditions to us. During that time, my lawyer claimed default judgement erroneously - and then they ended up invoicing me thier court fees to show up to vacate an ex-parte judgement (because they filed default a few days earlier than they should have).

As of now there is about 10K worth of invoices that are not paid. I have told them I do not want to pay any of the discovery related charges. I believe that in this COVID time when no courts were in session, no settlement conferences had been agreed to, why not just file an extension - instead of racking up almost 9K in discovery fees.

My lawyer has now sued me in civil for breach of contract, in Los Angeles county, Santa Monica courthouse. I explained to them my situation and told them that I will pay for everything up except for the discovery fees, and the fees for them to show up to vacate the ex-parte judgement they erroneously file. He is refusing to settle.

I want to explore my options.
1. Pay all the invoices that I am generally ok with - and just hold back the approx 3500 worth of payments.
2. File a response - and claim what? My logical claim is that he should not have racked up discovery charges - not a good strategy
3. Do not pay anything, file a response, and counter sue for the 6K worth of discovery fees I already paid to them.

Wanted to see if my case has any merit or should i just move on with my life and learn a lesson not to deal with lawyers unless its life or death?

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state? CA

In Jan 2020 i retained counsel for a matter where two of my tenants had left, and illegally sublet my unit to new people.

In March 2020 covid hit and all cases came to a standstill. Opposing counsel sent us discovery requests, and my lawyer raked up almost 6K in fees just to respond to discovery. The extent of this billing was not disclosed to me until they invoiced me. But yes, the hourly rate they charged was in the minutae of the contract I signed with them. I told my lawyer not to spend anything in the 1000s without preauthorization as everythign was a standstill (courts, motions, etc). I asked my lawyer if we had to respond to discovery given that covid had put everythign on hold. But he said that we HAD to respond (this was around april/may/jun 2021 timeframe) or else we would be censured.
I grudgingly paid that bill.
The opposing counsel a few weeks later sent back clarification requests for discovery - and my lawyer called me again and said we had to respond to that, or else we would be censured by court, penalized etc. I asked them how much the charges would be and they said 2-3 hours of thier work (verbal conversation). I again grudgingly okayed these. A few months later I was send invoices for another 3200 worth of discovery response related charges.

The case was dragged up until March 2021 when we settled, on extremely unfavorable conditions to us. During that time, my lawyer claimed default judgement erroneously - and then they ended up invoicing me thier court fees to show up to vacate an ex-parte judgement (because they filed default a few days earlier than they should have).

As of now there is about 10K worth of invoices that are not paid. I have told them I do not want to pay any of the discovery related charges. I believe that in this COVID time when no courts were in session, no settlement conferences had been agreed to, why not just file an extension - instead of racking up almost 9K in discovery fees.

My lawyer has now sued me in civil for breach of contract, in Los Angeles county, Santa Monica courthouse. I explained to them my situation and told them that I will pay for everything up except for the discovery fees, and the fees for them to show up to vacate the ex-parte judgement they erroneously file. He is refusing to settle.

I want to explore my options.
1. Pay all the invoices that I am generally ok with - and just hold back the approx 3500 worth of payments.
2. File a response - and claim what? My logical claim is that he should not have racked up discovery charges - not a good strategy
3. Do not pay anything, file a response, and counter sue for the 6K worth of discovery fees I already paid to them.

Wanted to see if my case has any merit or should i just move on with my life and learn a lesson not to deal with lawyers unless its life or death?

You signed a contract. He did work. You owe him per the contract. You didn't pay him. Therefore, he has sued you. You owe him money for the work he did as outlined in the contract you signed. If you had won what you thought you should have, would you dispute paying him?

 

[mulchr]

Thanks for your response. @Ohiogal . As a lawyer would you not discuss spending a total of 9K on discovery, and weighing that against the actual worth of the case. If I was told upfront in round one of discovery that it would be 5500, we would have probably withdrawn. After we told them to not spend anything more than a couple or few hours to respond to the 2nd round of discovery, and they still raked up 3500 in discovery - isnt that bad intent or at a minimum bad strategy?
And during the pandemic, when everything was "extension" - if there was no settlment conference happening, no hearing anytime coming, then why not "extend" the responses to discovery?
Remember this is CA, not sure about other states but the judicial body had stopped any and all lawsuits like mine from proceeding forward.
So, even if we had won, i would still question the overall 9K of discovery responses.

 

[Zigner]

I agree about the erroneously filed ex-parte default filing, but the discovery needs to be paid. I bet if you had offered that, then you wouldn't have been sued.

 

[adjusterjack]

But he said that we HAD to respond (this was around april/may/jun 2021 timeframe) or else we would be censured.

Maybe not censured but the Defendant would have moved for dismissal for lack of response - and probably would have gotten it. Then you would have had to refile at a later date and go through discovery all over again.

The opposing counsel a few weeks later sent back clarification requests for discovery - and my lawyer called me again and said we had to respond to that, or else we would be censured by court, penalized etc.

Again, possible dismissal for lack of response.

why not just file an extension - instead of racking up almost 9K in discovery fees.

It's called a continuance. He could have asked for it and charged you for the filing. The Defendant could have responded by asking the court to deny the request if they were ready for trial. Then maybe a hearing on the motion. More fees.

I explained to them my situation and told them that I will pay for everything up except for the discovery fees, and the fees for them to show up to vacate the ex-parte judgement they erroneously file. He is refusing to settle.

No kidding. He's got you over a barrel. He knows the law and the process. It's not costing him a dime to sue you and he knows that you aren't likely to be hiring another lawyer.

1. Pay all the invoices that I am generally ok with - and just hold back the approx 3500 worth of payments.

That won't end the lawsuit without his consent. You say he won't settle. What does that mean? How much of the bill have you offered?

2. File a response - and claim what? My logical claim is that he should not have racked up discovery charges - not a good strategy

No, it isn't. Had the case been dismissed to your detriment you would have been complaining about that.

3. Do not pay anything, file a response, and counter sue for the 6K worth of discovery fees I already paid to them.

You'd lose on the 6K because you agreed to the ongoing discovery.

Wanted to see if my case has any merit

Except for the ex parte thing, I don't think so.

should i just move on with my life and learn a lesson not to deal with lawyers unless its life or death?

That.

And one more thing. Sell the property and get out of the landlord business. This won't be the last time crap like this happens. Guaranteed.

 

[zddoodah]

You may want to consider Mandatory Fee Arbitration through the State Bar.

I told my lawyer not to spend anything in the 1000s without preauthorization

Was this made part of your retainer agreement with the lawyer or did you put this in writing with acknowledgment from the lawyer?

 

[not2cleverRed]

But yes, the hourly rate they charged was in the minutae of the contract I signed with them.

Um... rates are something that most people ask about before they retain a lawyer. Why are you so surprised?

 

[LdiJ]

I am not disagreeing with the others, however you would be within your rights to contact the California Bar Association and discuss a fee dispute with them. You would have course need to tell them that the attorney has already sued you, but you could get their take on it.

 

[zddoodah]

you would be within your rights to contact the California Bar Association and discuss a fee dispute with them.

I only disagree with this because there is no such thing as "the California Bar Association," and I already suggested that the OP look into and consider mandatory fee arbitration through the State Bar.

 

[LdiJ]

I only disagree with this because there is no such thing as "the California Bar Association," and I already suggested that the OP look into and consider mandatory fee arbitration through the State Bar.

Ok, so California calls it "The State Bar of California". If you google "the California Bar Association" you get straight to "The State Bar of California" anyway.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? CA

In Jan 2020 i retained counsel for a matter where two of my tenants had left, and illegally sublet my unit to new people.

In March 2020 covid hit and all cases came to a standstill. Opposing counsel sent us discovery requests, and my lawyer raked up almost 6K in fees just to respond to discovery. The extent of this billing was not disclosed to me until they invoiced me. But yes, the hourly rate they charged was in the minutae of the contract I signed with them. I told my lawyer not to spend anything in the 1000s without preauthorization as everythign was a standstill (courts, motions, etc). I asked my lawyer if we had to respond to discovery given that covid had put everythign on hold. But he said that we HAD to respond (this was around april/may/jun 2021 timeframe) or else we would be censured.
I grudgingly paid that bill.
The opposing counsel a few weeks later sent back clarification requests for discovery - and my lawyer called me again and said we had to respond to that, or else we would be censured by court, penalized etc. I asked them how much the charges would be and they said 2-3 hours of thier work (verbal conversation). I again grudgingly okayed these. A few months later I was send invoices for another 3200 worth of discovery response related charges.

The case was dragged up until March 2021 when we settled, on extremely unfavorable conditions to us. During that time, my lawyer claimed default judgement erroneously - and then they ended up invoicing me thier court fees to show up to vacate an ex-parte judgement (because they filed default a few days earlier than they should have).

As of now there is about 10K worth of invoices that are not paid. I have told them I do not want to pay any of the discovery related charges. I believe that in this COVID time when no courts were in session, no settlement conferences had been agreed to, why not just file an extension - instead of racking up almost 9K in discovery fees.

My lawyer has now sued me in civil for breach of contract, in Los Angeles county, Santa Monica courthouse. I explained to them my situation and told them that I will pay for everything up except for the discovery fees, and the fees for them to show up to vacate the ex-parte judgement they erroneously file. He is refusing to settle.

I want to explore my options.
1. Pay all the invoices that I am generally ok with - and just hold back the approx 3500 worth of payments.
2. File a response - and claim what? My logical claim is that he should not have racked up discovery charges - not a good strategy
3. Do not pay anything, file a response, and counter sue for the 6K worth of discovery fees I already paid to them.

Wanted to see if my case has any merit or should i just move on with my life and learn a lesson not to deal with lawyers unless its life or death?

Whether the fees charged you were “unconscionable” requires a personal review of the contract you signed with the attorney and a review of the factors listed in the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 4-200 Fees for Legal Services.

Here is a link to Rule 4-200:
https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/Conduct-Discipline/Rules/Rules-of-Professional-Conduct/Previous-Rules/Rule-4-200

Attorney fees should not come as a surprise if the contract is clear and regular contact with the attorney is maintained.