175 A.D. 201 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1916
The appellant petitioned the court that his attorney be compelled to render an accounting for the moneys received by him as such attorney. In his petition he states that he had agreed with his attorney to pay him fifty per cent of the amount realized from the matter for his services and disbursements, but alleges that he was overreached in the matter, and the attorney did not give him full information, and that the services rendered by the attorney were of the value of only $1,000, whereas it appears that the half of the amount realized was greatly in excess of that sum, which half the attorney had retained. The prayer of the petition was, among other things, that the attorney be required to make an accounting, and to pay the petitioner the amount which shall be found due him upon such accounting “ after deducting from the amount collected by said Powers a fair and reasonable sum as compensation for the services and disbursements of the said Powers in said matter.” An order of reference was made, which upon review by this court upon appeal, required the referee to make inquiry as to the circumstances under which the agreement was made, and as to its legality and fairness, and report the same to the court, and to ascertain the value of the services
Orders unanimously affirmed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements; Cochrane, J., not sitting. The court approves of the sixth finding of fact of the referee as follows: That the reasonable value of the defendant’s (now respondent) services in these proceedings is fifty per cent of the distributive share of the plaintiff after deducting from such distributive share the necessary expenses of the defendant’s proceedings in plaintiff’s behalf; and such finding should be inserted in the decision herein as a finding of fact.