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. DEPOSITORY


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THE AMERICAN COMMISSIONER

MIXED CLAIMS COMMISSION

UNITED STATES AND GERMANY


DECISION NO. 16

IN THE MATTER OF
FIXING REASONABLE FEES FOR ATTORNEYS OR
AGENTS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF SECTION 9 OF
THE SETTLEMENT OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1928"


DOCKET NO. 6438


SNational Union Bank of Rock Hill, 'South Carolina, Administrator of
V the Estate of Charles Hemphill, Deceased, Claimant

National Union Bank of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Attorney



CHANDLER P. ANDERSON
American Comdmissioner


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MIXED CLAIMS COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND GERMANY

Established in pursuance of the Agreement between the
United States and Germany of August 10, 1922




CHANDLER P. ANDERSON
American Commissioner

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E AMERICAN COMMISSIONER
MIXED CLAIMS COMMISSION
UNITED STATES AND GERMANY


DECISION NO. 16
IN THE MATTER OF
REASONABLE FEES FOR ATTORNEYS OR
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF SECTION 9 OF
SETTLEMENT OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1928"


DOCKET NO. 6438


union Bank of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Administrator
Estate of Charles Hemphill, Deceased, Claimant
Union Bank of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Attorney


The above named bank, the claimant, herein, as Administrator of
the Estate of Charles Hemphill, deceased, has filed with the, Ameri-
can Commissioner a written request that he fix a reasonable fee to
be paid out of this estate to the said bank as compensation for what-
ever services have been rendered by it on behalf of the said estate,
such services being of the character described in the provisions of
Section 9 of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928 ".
The above named bank, acting in the capacity of attorney for
itself as Administrator of this estate, has filed with the American
Commissioner an affidavit giving the information which it desires
to have considered by the Commissioner as showing the reasonableness
of the fee asked.
As attorney, the bank requests that its fee be fixed at $250 in addi-
tion to the statutory fee to be received by it as Administrator under
the rules of the Probate Court, which fee it estimates at approxi-
mately $50.00, and which it considers inadequate compensation.
I: (111)






112 1

In this case an award was rendered by this Commission on Februi.
ary 3, 1926, on behalf of the Estate of Charles Hemphill, deceased,:a-
for $1,000, with interest at the rate of five per cent per annum fromi:
November 11, 1918, to the date of payment.
It appears from the records in this proceeding that this bank wast:g
not appointed Administrator of the Estate of Charles Hemphill
until February 12, 1926, subsequent to the date of the award, and I
that prior to its appointment as Administrator it rendered certain ; :i
services, through its trust officer, in the presentation and prosecution ..
of this claim, on behalf of the parties interested therein.
The affidavit filed by the bank does not state in detail the services .:
rendered by it through its trust officer, but the records of the Cornm:1
mission show that two letters were written to the Department of 7.
State through the bank's trust officer, one in January and one in ,
March, 1924, inquiring about the presentation of the claim and re-
questing the necessary forms for its submission. These inquiries
were referred to the American Agency, which replied in April of
the same year, giving instructions in regard to filing the claim and
as to necessary documentary evidence in support of it.
According to the records of the Agency, nothing further was done
about the presentation of this claim until the American Agency
wrote to the trust officer on September 24, 1925, advising him that
unless this claim was at once properly documented in accordance with -
the instructions furnished to him, "it will be submitted to the Mixed
Claims Commission, United States and Germany, and recommended
for dismissal".
In response to the above mentioned communication from thei :3
American Agency, the trust officer wrote on September 30, 1925nk
stating, "I have lent my services to the claimant, and they [the heirs l
of the deceased] are at the present time engaged in securing affidavits:;
supporting their claim." On October 12, 1925, the trust officerE!
wrote again to the Agency, filing this claim on behalf of the de-il
cedent's mother, and enclosing five affidavits, together with some,
correspondence from the Red Cross and from the deceased to hi
mother, giving the information #quired. Subsequently an adI&'.
tional affidavit was filed by the trust oicer, supplying furtheli
information in support of this claim. :i







113
The affidavit submitted by the bank states that all of these affi-
davits were prepared by the trust officer and sworn to by affiants
selected by him who had knowledge of the information required,
all of which is alleged to have involved a great deal of time, effort
and ability.
On the other hand, all of the affidavits filed in this proceeding were
very brief, stating merely that the deceased and the claimant were
American citizens, and they were prepared in compliance with in-
structions from the American Agency, and the correspondence be-
tween the trust officer and the Department of State and the American
Agency comprised only nine letters in all from him, none of which
were more than a page in length. No brief on any question of law
or fact involved in this claim was submitted on behalf of the
claimant.
The basis of the claim as originally presented was not the basis of
the claim finally allowed by this Commission, although some of the
facts established in its presentation were relied on in support of the
award finally made. The award of the Conunission was made in
accordance with a recommendation from the American and German
Agents based upon an offer from the German Agent that, although
he denied any liability or responsibility on the part of the German
Government for the death of the said Charles Hemphill while a
prisoner of war, nevertheless, he would not oppose an award in the
amount of $1,000 to the Estate of Charles Hemphill as compensation
for the work he had been required to do, while a prisoner, without
just remuneration.
It was because the award in this case was finally made on behalf
of the Estate of the deceased, and not on behalf of his mother, the
original claimant, that it became necessary to have an administrator
of his estate appointed, with the result that, as above pointed out, the
present claimant, as Administrator of the decedent's Estate, was
appointed after the award was made, and, accordingly, rendered
no services as Administrator in the presentation and prosecution of
this claim.
* Nevertheless, in the affidavit submitted by the bank in this pro-
ceeding it is admitted that the statutory fee, estimated at $50, to be
allowed to it as Administrator of this Estate in the accounting in
the Probate Court, should be taken into consideration in fixing the
.Ii ,






114

reasonable fee to be paid by this Estate to the bank for services
previousJy rendered through its trust officer in the presentation and
prosecution of this claim. .
It appears from the affidavit filed by the bank that the estimated fee
of $50, to be allowed to it as Administrator of this Estate under the
rules of the Probate Court, was based on an estimated Estate value of
$1,000. In making this estimate the bank evidently overlooked the
fact that, although the claim in this case was only for $1,000, the
award allowed the amount of the cjaim plus interest. thereon. at I
the rate of five per cent per annum for a period of approximately I
ten years. Accordingly, the statutory fee of the bank, as Adminis-
trator, should be computed on an estate of $1.500 instead of $1,000,
which would add fifty per cent to the estimated fee, making it $75
instead of $50.
It results from the facts established in this proceeding that al-
though no agreement was made in this case about compensation for
services rendered by the bank. it was necessarily understood by all the-
parties concerned that the payment of compensation was contingent
upon the recovery and payment of an award.
Now, therefore, considering the character and extent and value
of the services rendered by the aforesaid bank as attorney or agent,
and that the payment of compensation therefore was contingent on
securing and collecting an a-ward, and in view of the considerations
stated in the general Jurisdictional and Administrative Decision
rendered by the American Commissioner under date of September 28,
1928, and after careful examination and full consideration of the
information furnished in this proceeding by the parties thereto,
and by the records of this Commission pertinent to the questions
involved, and after due deliberation thereon,
The American Commissioner decides and fixes as the reasonable
fee to be paid by the claimant, the National Union Bank of Rock .
Hill, South Carolina, as Administrator of the Estate of Charles .
Hemphill, Deceased, to the said bank as the agent or attorney in.
this case, the sum of seventy-five dollars ($75), in addition to the
statutory fee to be allowed to it, under the rules of the Probate -,
Court, in its accounting as Administrator, as aforesaid, the said .

I. .





115

fee hereby fixed to be paid and received as full compensation for
the services rendered by the said bank in the prosecution and collec-
tion of this claim, as defined in Section 9 of the Settlement of
War Claims Act of 1928 ".
Done at Washington, D. C., this 30th day of November, 1928.
CHANDLER P. ANDERSON,
American Commissioner,
Mixed Claims Commission,
United States and Germany.

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