Macomb County Circuit Court; Docket No. 76-509-CZ;
Judge Kenneth N. Sanborn; _____
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: _____; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
12% Interest Penalty on Overdue Benefits – Nature And Scope [§3142(2), (3)]
Interest Penalty Additive to Judgment Interest [§3142]
Calculating Attorney Fees Not Based on Contingent Fee [§3148]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Civil Judgments and Interest (MCL 600.6013)
CASE SUMMARY:
This written Opinion is a continuation of litigation summarized in previous item numbers (see Item Nos. 636 and 844). This opinion dealt with the extent of the attorney fee to be awarded to plaintiff under §3148 of the no-fault statute. In previous proceedings, the court had entered judgment in favor of plaintiff on his work loss claim in the amount of $8,233.23. It took plaintiff nine and a half years and one trip to the Court of Appeals to prevail on this claim. In finding that the defendant unreasonably refused to pay this claim, the court emphasized the defendant's "perfidious behavior" and how the defendant had "obfuscated the issues." The court specifically found, "that a tremendous amount of time and labor was involved in this case due primarily to the contentiousness of defendant and its counsel." After considering proofs at a formal hearing, the court found that it was reasonable for plaintiff’s counsel to have expended the 760 hours of time which was documented by plaintiff’s counsel. The court found that a reasonable hourly rate for these services is $65 an hour, which results in a total attorney fee of $49,400. In addition, plaintiff is entitled to interest under §3142 of the statute and judgment interest under MCLA 600.6013.
