Genesee County Circuit Court; Docket No. 76-41076-NM; Unpublished
Judge Robert M. Ransom; Written Opinion
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Calculating Attorney Fees Based on Contingent Fee [§3148]
Penalty Attorney Fees and Other Court Rule Sanctions [§3148]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
When this case was decided by the Court of Appeals (Youmans v Citizens, item number 177), the appellate court determined that plaintiff should recover replacement service benefits together with 12 percent interest and reasonable attorney fees. When this case was remanded back to the Circuit Court, Judge Ransom, in a written Opinion, held that the plaintiff should be entitled to an attorney fee based on one third of the principal benefits recovered including the 12 percent interest award. The plaintiff had actually paid a fee consisting of 50 percent of the award. The defendant argued that by including the interest as part of the recovery upon which the fee was based, the Court was imposing a penalty on a penalty. Judge Ransom cited GCR 928 (the contingency fee rule) regarding what represents a "reasonable attorney fee." He noted that this rule is not necessarily controlling in a breach of contract action against an insurance carrier for no-fault benefits. He stated that the overriding consideration is "what is a reasonable attorney fee under the circumstances" and noted that there are "compelling reasons of public policy to assess reasonable attorney fees where the court finds an insurance carrier has unreasonably withheld payment"
