Collecting Legal Fees
My Mother passed away in September of 2006. Together my Sister & I were helping our semi independent Brother who has Cerebral Palsy. In February 2007 my sister filed with the court in Los Angeles for Conservatorship of my Brother. In the documents to the court she made false accusations about me the way I have treated my Brother. The Court appointed my Brother a (PVP) Lawyer. In July of 2007 the (PVP) Lawyer issued his report and submitted it to the court. The report was not to my Sisters favor and in fact stated that I should be my Brothers Conservator if one was appointed. I never felt my Brother needed a Conservator.
It was only at that time did my sister agree to sit down with a mediator. In September 2007 all the issues are settled and my Sister and I have a working agreement in relation to taking care of my Brothers health and financial needs.
My Question Is:
Can my Brother & I sue my Sister to pay our legal and court fees. For my brother it has cost him over $12,000 and for me over $30,000.
2007-10-16 10:27:34 · 4 answers · asked by divechimes 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
That should have been settled in mediation and depending on the wording of the mediation you may not be able to. You will need to spend more money on that lawyer to be sure.
2007-10-16 10:33:29 · answer #1 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry about your mother and the situation with your family. These lawsuits have to make Thanksgiving in your house a little difficult.
The answer is, in any lawsuit, if you are the prevailing party (i.e., you win), you can always ask for your attorney's fees and legal fees to be reimbursed to you. Most courts have a form you can file to request that a judge grant an order forcing the other party to pay.
2007-10-16 10:34:29 · answer #2 · answered by Hillary 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Our system is defineitely not "losing party pays the fees". that has to be negotiated.
The best person to ask this is your attorney. S/he can best explain to you the terms of the mediation. If you are not satisfied, you cna always run the written agreement past a different attorney for advice.
For that amount of money, it might be worth a couple hundred dollars to get that second opinion.
2007-10-16 11:01:33 · answer #3 · answered by Barry C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, you cannot, UNLESS the mediation agreement says that you can.
2007-10-16 10:34:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋