A very straightforward query. I’ve lots of feelings about this case, which no doubt can be vented in other threads. Here’s my question.
Neither party in this case is The State. Neither party in this case is having their legal representation provided for free by the Court. Both parties are private individuals.
Who is going to pay the legal bills? Even before the groundbreaking events of last evening, the legal bills incurred by both sides must have passed into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not a million dollars so far.
Guessing that the family members are not fabulously wealthy, can any attorneys chime in here? How do you collect fees from a case like this? Is Terry Schiavo’s husband going to be destitute as a result of unpaid legal bills? When someone does not pay their bills, they get sued. Are Mrs. Schiavo’s parents going to be sued for unpaid legal expenses and left bankrupt and destitute? If not, why not? Everyone is responsible for their bills. If so, what is the proceedure for collecting such a huge unpaid debt?
And as a side note, since this is a fairly notorious case in the public eye, what legal firm in their right mind would sue for unpaid legal bills? They are within their rights to do so of course, but it might well be public relations suicide.
I don’t know the answer in this particular case, but I’m perfectly willing to guess.
First, it’s likely that the parties have fee agreements with their lawyers. Because there’s no chance of money changing hands (from what I understand, both sides are simply suing for the right to dictate how Terri Schiavo will be treated), there shouldn’t be any type of contingency fee agreement.
So that leaves (1) an hourly fee agreement; (2) a flat fee agreement; and (3) a for nothing fee agreement. (This is way simpler than reality, which also includes blended rates and varous types of discounts.)
I suspect that whatever deal the parties have, it’s either (2) or (3), because you’re right: under an hourly fee agreement, with the number of hours that have been expended on a case, we would easily be into the millions.
Given that this is a relatively notorious case, the lawyers may have been willing to do a flat fee agreement (considering that some of their “payment” would come in the form of an increased profile in the news). I doubt they’d do it free.
But there’s also nothing to say that Schiavo or the Schindlers are themselves footing the fill. As you say, there are a lot of people with opinions, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there are groups (including groups specially created to pay the attorneys fees) who are helping out.
As for collecting a huge debt: sue, get a judgment, execute on the judgment. If the parents live in Florida, they’ve homesteaded their house most likely, so are essentially judgment proof. In that case, the lawyers would simply have to eat the fees.
I’ve read that Mr Sciavo received a large settlement for malpractice, for whatever caused her condition. From $500k to $1M, depending on the source. He is not obligated to state how he’s spent it, but IMHO he’s entirely within his legal and moral rights to spend it on lawyers fighting her family.
I’d wager that both sides have spent over $1M on fees (fifteen years of litigation is pretting expensive). I would also wager that some of the parents’ litigation expenses have been subsidized by various special interest groups. The husband is also probably getting some financial help.
Cases like this are tough. While there are provisions for attorneys’ fees in conservatorships and guardianships, the only real source of payment is the protected person’s estate. If the estate has any money, the conservator can periodically petition the court to approve lawyer’s bills and pay the fees. Under some conditions, those seeking to unseat a guardian or conservator may also seek compensation from the estate. Again, all of this being contingent on the estate having money to pay the bills. The lawyers probably got big retainers, and kept them current. If they didn’t–shame on them.
Imagine what would have happened if neither side had any wealth to contribute to litigation like this, or worse yet, if only one side did.
Couple more things. Some lawyers will represent a client for free: Either out of a commitment to public service, a commitment to a common cause, or for sheer self-promotion (think Fieger/Kevorkian).
As I pointed out earlier, the lawyer’s first protection against the deadbeat client is a big retainer. Mrs. Schiavo’s parents’ lawyer is not working pro bono for one of the reasons mentioned above, the Schiavo’s are probably pretty close to current on their bill (perhaps through financial assistance from special interest groups). Otherwise, the lawyer would have stopped working on the case long ago.
Re Mr. Schiavo: It was my understanding the money was for rehab for Terry. Otherwise watch for more scuttlebut on “Mr.” Schiavo. Wouldn’t trust him with a farthing. Rushbo indicated he was greedy.
OTOH Both legal and medical expenses skyrocket and the time wasted on everyone’s opinion continue to accumulate. Talk show hosts on TV and radio both waste air and listeners time.
Fifteen years of epic litigation is not a great way to make money. If Mr. Schiavo were truly greedy, he would have divorced Mrs. Schiavo a long time ago, left the people of the State of Florida and/or her parents with the medical bills, and avoided years of lawyer bills.
I don’t want to take this into GD or Pit territory, but I would appreciate an expansion on this. Just who is “Rushbo” and why does his indication of Michael Schiavo’s greed count as a factual answer? You are aware, aren’t you, that Schiavo turned down a $1M dollar offer to abandon his wife’s guardianship? Seems to me, if greed were a factually-supportable motivation, he’d have taken that money and run.
Very much time and money was spent in the first few years after her bulimia-induced heart attack flying her around to various clinics and therapists and hospitals to try to make some progress. Mr. Shiavo was living with Terri’s parents at this time. Apprently when he saw no progress and the parents did, they parted ways and he moved out. They worked together to try to help her recovery.
What medical expenses are skyrocketing? She is in a HOSPICE!