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Senate committee debates changing how attorney fees are calculated in condemnation actions; fee proposal fails
Summary
Senate Judiciary members debated S.B. 279, a bill that would require courts to calculate attorney fees in condemnation cases on an hourly basis rather than allow awards that resemble contingency fees; after extended questioning from members and witnesses, the motion to pass failed in committee.
A proposal to require hourly calculation of attorney fees in condemnation (eminent domain) cases drew extended committee scrutiny and failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senator Pich, the bill sponsor, told the committee S.B. 279 would replace a fixed or undefined award method with language specifying attorney fees be "calculated on an hourly basis," arguing that an hourly standard avoids arbitrary awards and is a better use of taxpayer dollars. "If it's not tied to an hourly rate, it ends up picking winners and losers," the sponsor said, adding that the change is intended to be "good stewardship with the taxpayer dollars."
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