Decision no. ... in the matter of fixing reasonable fees for attorneys or agents under the authority of Section 9 of the...

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U.S. DEPO TORY
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THE AMERICAN


COMMISSIONER


MIXED CLAIMS COMMISSION

UNITED STATES AND GERMANY


DECISION NO. 62

IN THE MATTER OF


FIXING


REASONABLE


FEES


FOR


ATTORNEYS


AGENTS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF SECTION 9 OF
THE SETTLEMENT OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1928"


DOCKET NO. 5830


Charles Sheifler, Claimant


OR


Hirschi.


Shzeprmna


& Liranburg, Attorneys


CHANDLER P. ANDERSON


A menican C


Omm1fl288Wner


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MIXED


CLAIMS


COMMISSION,


UNITED


STATES


AND


GERMANY


Established


in pursuance of


the Agreement


between


United States and Germany of August 10, 1922


CHANDLER P


ANDERSON


American Comm~i ioner

(I)


AU
sAL.


"iS


* ":vs


;i:




mas i!:nfl';


THE


MIXED


CLAIMS


COMMISSIONER


COMMISSION


UNITED


STATES


AND


GERMANY


DECISION NO. 6

IN THE MATTER OF


FIXING


REASONABLE


FEES


FOR


ATTORNEYS


AGENTS


UNDER


THE


AUTHORITY


SECTION


9 OF


THE "


SETTLEMENT OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1928"


DOCKET NO. 5830


Charles Sheffler, Claimant


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Hirsoh, Sherman & Limb urg


Attorneys


The above named cl
Commissioner a written


Iimant ]
request


has
tha


duly
the


filed


with


American


a reasonable


aid to his



services bein
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attorneys, Hirsch,


)mpensation


behalf


of and


Sherman


whatever


with


se


& Limburg,
rvices have


the authority


New


been


York,


rendered


of the claimant


such


g of the character described in the provisions of Section


9 of the Settlement of War Clains Act of 1928."


The claimant


has objected


amount of


fee asked


by the


attorneys on


the ground


that


it is excessive, and


he attorneys


have


AMERICAN


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406


formation has been brought to the attention of the claimant


who has


filed three affidavits in reply


copies of which have been


transmitted


to the attorneys.


In this case an award on behalf


of the claimant was rendered by


this Commission


on October 30,


1925, for the


um of $1,134.36,


with


interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per annum from January


1920,


date


payment,


consisting of a bank balance in


which


amount


the amount of Marks


represents


7,089.75


a debt
in the


Deutsche Bank of Frankfort


, Germany, owing to the claimant as of


April


1917


The


total


amount


received


the Treasury Department in payment of this award i


claimant
$1,588.10.


from


The amount of


rendered


is $397.03,


ceived


thereon at


five


compensation


being


claimant
per cent


asked


twenty-five
payment


annum


attorney


cent


award


from


January


for services


amount


with
1928


interest
, and, in


addition,
allowed,


disbursement


attorneys


amounting


request


that


$8.40.


amount


interest


their


compensa-


tion be fixed at $400


exclu


sive


of their


disbursements.


The


claim


ant suggests


as a reasonable


three


cent


amount


covered,


which


would make the


fee $47.64.


The claimant makes no


objection to the item of expenses.


appears


from


claimant that, in


affidavit


December,


1922


filed


the claimant


attorneys
employed!


and


attor-


neys to


prosecute


and


collect


this


claim.


The


services


agreement


this case is contained in the following


letters


(Letterhead of Hirsch,


Sherman &


Limburg)


DECEMBER


Mr. CHARLES SHEFFLER,
% Sheffler Import Co.,


1922.


396 Broadway, New York City


DEAR CHARLETS


This will anknnowwiedg yours nf the 9th inst.


resnpotins your claim to he nre-





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407


(Letterhead of Sheffler


Import


DECEMBER 25TH


1922.


H.scu, SHERMAN & LrMBURG
160 Broad(2 y, New Yorlo Oity.
DEA. HARRY:
I received your both letters of Dec.


15t~h&


23rd and as


only got back last


friday you


kindly


pardon


me for not


sending


g you


necessa ry


papers


sooner.
Enclosed you will find the copies of the German letters and statement received


from


the Deutsche


Bank,


Frankfurt


a/M


please file our


claim


with


State Department


in accordance with our arrangement expressed


in your letter


of December


15th.


With the compliments of the Season,


lam,


Sincerely yours,


(Signed)


CHARLES


SHaEFFLEE.


Upon


the receipt of thi


letter


author


the attorneys to


repre-


sent


the claimant,


transmitted


to the


duplicate


Department


petitions


in s


of State.


support


These


petition


claim


were


were
duly


referred


by the Department of State


the American


Agent


before


this


Commiss


quested


ion ;


furnish


and


on December


additional


citizenship of the claimant.


evidence


Claimant'


1923


attorneys


in support


birth certificate wa


by the attorneys from the Department of Public Health at


were


American
s obtained
Philadel-


phia, and promptly forwarded


to the American Agent.


The


records of this


Commission show


that


on February


,1925,


the American Agency


wrote


attorneys


in regard


pro-


cedure
closed


followed


in settling


waivers for execution


claim


by the claimant


this character,
: that on June


and


, 1925,


the attorneys obtained the claimant'


signature to these


waivers, and


on June 4


June


1925


1925


filed


the claim


them


with


the American Agency;


was submitted


this


and


Commission


that
upon


agreed statement of fact


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signed by the Agents of the two Govern-


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408


upon, the claimant informed the attorneys that his application "


had


already


been


submitted


through


good


office


American


War


Claimants


Association."


appears from


claimant'


letter


the American Commissioner, dated April 12,


1928


, that he agreed to


pay


Alexander Otis, Secretary


of the Association


$30.00


for assist-


ance in obtaining payment of the award.
The extent and character of the services rendered


by the attorneys


outlined


considerable


length


affidavit


filed


them.


It is unnecessary, however, for reasons set out


below


to examine in


detail the value of these services.


As pointed out by the American Commissioner in hi


general Ad-


ministrative and Jurisdictional Decision of September 28.


1928


and


as held by him in his previous decisions in similar proceedings (Deci-


sions Nos. 1, 3,


8, 25,


32, 35,


46, 49, 53, 56, 58, 59 and 61),


where claim-


ants


entirely


competent


look


after


their


own


interests


making
plated 1


a fee


agreement


Congress, in


with


their


authorizing


attorneys,


American


was


contem-


Commissioner


fix reasonable fees in


agreement thus


these


reached


proceedings,


between


that he


would


claimants and


disregard an


their


attorneys.


This interpretation of this Act of Congress is found in the following
extract from the Report of the Senate Committee on Finance, recomt
mending this fee fixing legislation to the Senate:
It is expected, however, that it will not be necessary to alter amounts fixed by


contract with large corporations and


others fully


capable


of protecting their


own interests.


In such


cases


*l *l


American


Commissioner


* *


would undoubtedly be justified in fixing the amount specified in


the contracts.


decisions


above


mentioned,


American


Commissioner


expressed


concurrence


in this


view,


and


held


that


word


"reasonable "


as used in the fee fixing provisions of the Act should


be given this interpretation in fee fixing proceedings.


this case the


record shows that the claimant,


Charles


Sheffler,


^*-AJ






409

larger than on the ordinary basis of payment irrespective of whether


or not there was recovery


because of the certainty that the


of a contingent fee would in any event be delayed,


and


payment


of the uncer-


tainty of whether it would ever be paid.


Claimant


three


suggestion


per cent of the


bursements, cannot


that a


amount
sustain


L reasonal
recovered
d. The


or $47.64,


American


his case w
exclusive


wouldd
of


Commissioner


1 be
dis-
has


already


ruled,


general


Administrative


a:nd


Jurisdictional


Decision of September


that


Section


20 of


also


" Tradin


Dec


with


vision No.


Enemy


, page


Act


xing


216)
, the


three per cent rate for attorneys'


services in collecting claim


again


Alien Property


r services
Claimant


rendered


Custodian


concern in


a arr~eyje mnt


cannot


claim


pay $30.00 to


properly
before thi


Mr.


applied


fees


assistance


filling out a


printed


blank


form


application


payment


award i


an indication that he is willing


to pay a substantial


fee for


services which were merely routine in character and of a much


lower


grade than those rendered by these attorneys in establishing the claim


torney


The
had


which he


claimant
rendered


was accepting


undoubtedly
t


valuable


and


knew


services on


that they would


at this


time


behalf
claim a


that


benefit of


compensation


those


services


fixed


in hi


agreement


with


them.


voluntary


employment


s does


not entitle


deduct


the amount paid to him from the compensation he had ag


reed


pay


to th


ese attorneys.


objection
attorneys.


The claimant had not, up to that time raise


reasonableness


contrary,


agreed


had


upon


acquiesced


with


d any
these


attorneys'


conduct of his case and had thereby


approved of the attorney


' efforts


in hi


behalf.


The
ability.


attorneys
They h


herein


iave


a firm


represented


other


lawyers
claimants


experience


before


and


Com-


CO nl m i as i O n."




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fixed by his agreement with these attorneys, and that the fee fixed by


the agreement Was reasonable, not only


because


Senate Committee's definition of reasonableness,


payment of the fee agreed upon


was contingent


it comes within the
but also because the
upon obtaining and


collection of an award.


Now, therefore, in the circumstances above set


forth


and in


view


of the considerations stated in the general Administrative and Juris-


dictional


Decision


rendered


American


Commissioner


under


date of September 28, 1928, and after careful


examination


and


full


consideration of the information furnished in this proceeding by the


attorneys and


pertinent
thereon.


the claimant


questions


and


by the records


involved,


and


after


Commission
deliberation


The


American


Commissioner


decides


and


fixes


as the


reasonable


fee to be paid by the claimant, Charles Sheffler, to his said attorneys,
Hirsch, Sherman & Limburg, in this case, the fee fixed in his agree-


ment with them, namely,


Three Hundred Ninety-Seven Dollars and


Three


Cents


($397.03),


being


twenty-five


received by the claimant from the Treasury


of his award, in addition to


cent


Department in


]


Eight Dollars and Forty Cents


amount
payment
($8.40)


disbursements expended by the attorneys, said fee to be


claimant and received by the attorneys as full


paid by the


compensation


services rendered in the prosecution of this claim, as defined in Sec-
tion 9 of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928."


Done at


Washington, D.


C., this 25th day


June,


1930.


CHANDLER P


. ANDERSON,


Amnericam Commissioner,
Miwed Claimn Comnmission,
United States and Germany.


UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

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