In Re Attorney Fees of Ujlaky , 498 Mich. 890 ( 2015 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
September 30, 2015 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
150887 Stephen J. Markman
Mary Beth Kelly
Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
In re Attorney Fees of JOHN W. UJLAKY Richard H. Bernstein,
Justices
____________________________________
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v SC: 150887
COA: 316494
Kent CC: 11-002833-FC
SHAWN DOUGLAS SIMPSON,
Defendant,
and
JOHN W. UJLAKY,
Appellant.
_____________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the October 23, 2014
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in
lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals as
to Docket No. 316494, and we REMAND this case to the Kent Circuit Court for a
determination of the reasonableness of the attorney fees requested. The trial court
applied the county’s fee schedule, which capped compensation for plea cases at $660, but
did not address at all the reasonableness of the fee in relation to the actual services
rendered, as itemized by the appellant. See In re Recorder’s Court Bar Ass’n, 443 Mich.
110, 131 (1993). Although the expenditure of any amount of time beyond that
contemplated by the schedule for the typical case does not, ipso facto, warrant extra fees,
spending a significant but reasonable number of hours beyond the norm may. On
remand, the trial court shall either award the requested fees, or articulate on the record its
basis for concluding that such fees are not reasonable. See, e.g., In re Attorney Fees of
Mullkoff, 176 Mich. App. 82, 85-88 (1989), and In re Attorney Fees of Jamnik, 176 Mich
App 827, 831 (1989).
We do not retain jurisdiction.
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
September 30, 2015
a0930
Clerk