CONTINGENCY FEE RETAINER AGREEMENT & AUTHORITY TO REPRESENT (“REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT”)
The undersigned (“Client”) hereby employs Payne Law, PLLC (“Attorney” or “Firm”), to represent Client in claim(s) for contractual rights against Client’s insurance company for loss(es) to Client’s property:
ATTORNEYS’ FEES CONTINGENT ON RECOVERY
This employment is on a contingent basis. If no recovery is made for, or on behalf of Client, the client shall not pay attorneys’ fees for any of the professional services rendered in reference to this matter by the Attorney. From the gross proceeds of any recovery, the Attorney shall be entitled to receive the following legal fees for the services set forth below:
a. Pre-suit Proceedings:
If the Firm resolves, settles, or obtains appraisal on a claim on behalf of the Client prior to the filing of a lawsuit, the Firm is entitled to 20% of the net insurance proceeds or a negotiated fee to be paid by the insurance carrier, whichever is greater. Any expenses incurred on behalf of Client shall be deducted from the gross proceeds prior to any attorneys’ fees deduction. The proceeds will be disbursed subsequent to Client’s signing of a Closing Statement reflecting the amount awarded and the distribution of proceeds. THERE ARE NO UPFRONT FEES.
b. Litigated Actions
Client hereby authorizes Attorney to file suit against Client’s insurance carrier or other responsible party should they deny, reject, or underpay Client’s claim. If the payment of attorney’s fees is required to be determined by the Court, or if settlement is achieved via negotiations with the responsible party, attorney shall be entitled to receive all of such attorney’s fees awarded by the Court. If a settlement includes an amount for attorney’s fees, attorney shall be entitled to receive all of its expended and/or negotiated fees.
Client agrees that in the event of recovery, whether by suit, judgment, confession of judgment, appraisal, settlement or other, Attorney is entitled to fees Pursuant to Florida Statute § 627.428 or a negotiated fee to be paid by the insurance carrier, OR thirty-three and a third percent (33 1/3%) of any amounts recovered from the carrier, whichever is greater. In all cases whether there is a recovery of court awarded fees or not, by contract or statute, the fee shall be thirty-three and a third percent (33 1/3%) or the negotiated amount, whichever is greater.
Client acknowledges that the Attorney rate is at minimum $450.00/hour, and paralegal rate is $125.00/hour. NO RECOVERY, NO FEE. If there is no settlement recovered from the Insurance Company, no fee will be applied to the client.
c. Flood Insurance
In the event that the Firm undertakes representation of the Client in a claim against the Flood Insurance Carrier, the Client agrees that, if the matter is resolved prior to the initiation of litigation, the Firm shall be entitled to a fee equal to thirty-three and a third percent (33 1/3%) of the gross recovery, or a negotiated fee, whichever is greater. In the event that litigation becomes necessary, the Client agrees that the Firm shall be entitled to a fee equal to forty percent (40%) of the gross recovery, prior to the deduction of any costs or expenses, or a negotiated fee, whichever is greater.
d. Receivership – Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA)
In the event Client’s Insurance Company is ordered into receivership or is declared insolvent by the Department of Financial Services and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”) becomes responsible to pay Client’s claim, the Attorney will be entitled to a statutory fee or a negotiated fee, or 33% of any amounts recovered from FIGA on behalf of Client, whichever is greater. The above employment is hereby accepted upon the terms and conditions stated herein.
e. Expenses/Costs:
In addition to the legal fees, Attorney is entitled to receive all court costs and expenses incurred by Attorney in reference to this matter. Any and all such expenses incurred on Client’s behalf shall be deducted from the Client’s net proceeds of recovery, after deducting Attorney’s fees from the gross recovery from the insurance carrier.
Client acknowledges that Attorney shall engage, at Attorney’s sole discretion, professionals to render services on behalf of Client. Further, any expenses related to the insurance policy’s appraisal process, including, without limitation, the Client’s appraiser fees, and umpire fees shall be paid by the Client out of the total award from the Insurance Company.
Finally, if the client has retained a public adjuster directly to represent Client on the loss, Client understands and acknowledges that Attorney must pay the public adjuster out of any insurance benefits recovered pursuant to the contract between Client and their public adjuster and authorizes and directs Attorney to do so. All fees and costs that are incurred shall be deducted from the total settlement amount from the Insurance Company. Client will not be responsible to pay these fees and costs.
CLIENT COOPERATION
Client agrees to cooperate with the Attorney’s requests, to be available to the Attorney at reasonable times and places, and to keep Attorney fully advised as to current address and telephone number. Client agrees to communicate with Attorney and cooperate with Attorney’s reasonable requests and the legal process. Failure on the part of Client to communicate and/or cooperate with Attorney, may result in Attorney withdrawing from representation of Client.
STATEMENT OF CLIENT RIGHTS
Client represents that before signing this contract they have received and read The Statement of Client’s Rights. Client affirms that they understand their rights set forth therein. Client affirms they have signed The Statement of Client’s Rights and have received a copy. This contract may be canceled by written notification to the Attorney within 3 business days of signing by Client. If cancelled, Client shall not be obligated to pay any fees to Attorney for any/all work performed during that time. If Attorney has advanced funds to others in representation of the Client, Attorney is entitled to be reimbursed for all amounts advanced on behalf of Client.
EARLY TERMINATION BY CLIENT
In the event that this contract is terminated by the Client before the agreement to settle with the Insurance Company is made, the Client agrees to reimburse Attorney for all hard costs incurred and reasonable attorney’s fees for legal services.
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Client authorizes the Attorney, on his/her/their/its behalf, to execute any and all documents, including pleadings, stipulations and agreements, and to retain in their name, the services of any and all accountants, expert witnesses, appraisers, contractors and investigators whom in its discretion are deemed necessary to prepare for the prosecution of the action described above.
Client further authorizes attorney to pay out of the proceeds of recovery all unpaid costs and liens. Client authorizes attorney to endorse Client’s signatures on any settlement check and to deposit check into Attorney’s trust account.
MORTGAGE COMPANY AS ADDITIONAL PAYEE
Client understands and consents that if there is an outstanding mortgage on the subject property, the Mortgagee has a right to be a co-payee on all insurance checks for real property damages. Client will be solely responsible to obtain the Mortgagee’s endorsement of such checks.
The Client agrees that whether there are mortgage obligations or not, Client is held 100% responsible for Payne Law, PLLC., entire fee and costs along with any other fee(s) incurred throughout your claim resolution. If your claim is a monitored claim, the entire fee of Payne Law, PLLC. is to be deducted from the first disbursement.
THE UNDERSIGNED CLIENT HAS, BEFORE SIGNING THIS CONTRACT, RECEIVED AND READ THIS STATEMENT OF CLIENT’S RIGHTS, AND UNDERSTANDS EACH OF THE RIGHTS SET FORTH THEREIN. THE UNDERSIGNED CLIENT HAS SIGNED THE STATEMENT AND RECEIVED A SIGNED COPY TO KEEP TO REFER TO WHILE BEING REPRESENTED BY THE UNDERSIGNED ATTORNEY.
The above employment is hereby accepted upon the terms stated herein. The authority to represent is not binding until it is signed by both the client(s) and a lawyer for Payne Law, PLLC. No person has authority to sign this retainer agreement on behalf of Payne Law, PLLC except for an attorney from the law office of Payne Law, PLLC.
STATEMENT OF CLIENT’S RIGHTS FOR CONTINGENCY FEES
Before you, the prospective client, arrange a contingent fee agreement with a lawyer, you should understand this statement of your rights as a client. This statement is not a part of the actual contract between you and your lawyer, but, as a prospective client, you should be aware of these rights:
-
There is no legal requirement that a lawyer charge a client a set fee or a percentage of money recovered in a case. You, the client, have the right to talk with your lawyer about the proposed fee and to bargain about the rate or percentage as in any other contract. If you do not reach an agreement with 1 lawyer you may talk with other lawyers.
-
Any contingent fee contract must be in writing and you have 3 business days to reconsider the contract. You may cancel the contract without any reason if you notify your lawyer in writing within 3 business days of signing the contract. If you withdraw from the contract within the first 3 business days, you do not owe the lawyer a fee although you may be responsible for the lawyer’s actual costs during that time.
If your lawyer begins to represent you, your lawyer may not withdraw from the case without giving you notice, delivering necessary papers to you, and allowing you time to employ another lawyer. Often, your lawyer must obtain court approval before withdrawing from a case. If you discharge your lawyer without good cause after the 3-day period, you may have to pay a fee for work the lawyer has done.
-
Before hiring a lawyer, you, the client, have the right to know about the lawyer’s education, training, and experience. If you ask, the lawyer should tell you specifically about the lawyer’s actual experience dealing with cases similar to yours. If you ask, the lawyer should provide information about special training or knowledge and give you this information in writing if you request it.
-
Before signing a contingent fee contract with you, a lawyer must advise you whether the lawyer intends to handle your case alone or whether other lawyers will be helping with the case. If your lawyer intends to refer the case to other lawyers, the lawyer should tell you what kind of fee sharing arrangement will be made with the other lawyers. If lawyers from different law firms will represent you, at least 1 lawyer from each law firm must sign the contingent fee contract.
-
If your lawyer intends to refer your case to another lawyer or counsel with other lawyers, your lawyer should tell you about that at the beginning. If your lawyer takes the case and later decides to refer it to another lawyer or to associate with other lawyers, you should sign a new contract that includes the new lawyers.
You, the client, also have the right to consult with each lawyer working on your case and each lawyer is legally responsible to represent your interests and is legally responsible for the acts of the other lawyers involved in the case.
-
You, the client, have the right to know in advance how you will need to pay the expenses and the legal fees at the end of the case. If you pay a deposit in advance for costs, you may ask reasonable questions about how the money will be or has been spent and how much of it remains unspent. Your lawyer should give a reasonable estimate about future necessary costs.
If your lawyer agrees to lend or advance you money to prepare or research the case, you have the right to know periodically how much money your lawyer has spent on your behalf. You also have the right to decide, after consulting with your lawyer, how much money is to be spent to prepare a case. If you pay the expenses, you have the right to decide how much to spend. Your lawyer should also inform you whether the fee will be based on the gross amount recovered or on the amount recovered minus the costs.
-
You, the client, have the right to be told by your lawyer about possible adverse consequences if you lose the case. Those adverse consequences might include money that you might have to pay to your lawyer for costs and liability you might have for attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses to the other side.
-
You, the client, have the right to receive and approve a closing statement at the end of the case before you pay any money. The statement must list all of the financial details of the entire case, including the amount recovered, all expenses, and a precise statement of your lawyer’s fee.
Until you approve the closing statement your lawyer cannot pay any money to anyone, including you, without an appropriate order of the court. You also have the right to have every lawyer or law firm working on your case sign this closing statement.
-
You, the client, have the right to ask your lawyer at reasonable intervals how the case is progressing and to have these questions answered to the best of your lawyer’s ability.
-
You, the client, have the right to make the final decision regarding settlement of a case. Your lawyer must notify you of all offers of settlement before and after the trial. Offers during the trial must be immediately communicated and you should consult with your lawyer regarding whether to accept a settlement. However, you must make the final decision to accept or reject a settlement.
-
If at any time you, the client, believe that your lawyer has charged an excessive or illegal fee, you have the right to report the matter to The Florida Bar, the agency that oversees the practice and behavior of all lawyers in Florida. For information on how to reach The Florida Bar, call 850/561-5600, or contact the local bar association.
Any disagreement between you and your lawyer about a fee can be taken to court and you may wish to hire another lawyer to help you resolve this disagreement. Usually, fee disputes must be handled in a separate lawsuit, unless your fee contract provides for arbitration.
You can request, but may not require, that a provision for arbitration under Chapter 682, Florida Statutes, or under the fee arbitration rule of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, be included in your fee contract.
For: Payne Law, PLLC
2200 N. Park Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789