Life Care Centers of Am. v. Chiles

1 Citing case

  1. Much Shelist Freed Denenberg & Ament, P.C. v. Lison

    297 Ill. App. 3d 375 (Ill. App. Ct. 1998)   Cited 28 times
    Summarizing such cases

    Callahan, 144 Ill. 2d at 38-39. Under the reasoning of these other jurisdictions, where a contingent-fee agreement was entered into, the attorney who is discharged before recovery cannot recover fees. E.g., Life Care Centers of America, Inc. v. Chiles, 674 So.2d 873, 874 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1996) (recovery was denied to a class-action attorney, after the client withdrew, on the basis that the contingency of recovery in the class action never occurred). In Illinois a discharged attorney may recover on a quantum-meruit basis a reasonable fee for services rendered before discharge. Rhodes v. Norfolk Western Ry. Co., 78 Ill.2d 217, 230 (1979).