AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

The Defendant, an Ohio corporation engaged in purchasing commercial paper, hired the Plaintiff, a law firm, to assist in collections. The parties had no written fee agreement, but the Plaintiff billed the Defendant monthly based on an hourly rate. The Defendant paid some invoices but later refused to pay others, leading the Plaintiff to sue for unpaid fees. The Defendant counterclaimed, alleging overpayment and unfair trade practices (paras 2-5).

Procedural History

• District Court of Chaves County: Granted summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiff on its complaint for unpaid fees and dismissed the Defendant's counterclaims. The court also awarded attorney's fees to the Plaintiff but denied fees for in-house counsel (headnotes, paras 1, 13-15).

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff: Argued that its fees were reasonable and supported by invoices and affidavits. Asserted that the Defendant's payments without objection constituted an account stated, barring the counterclaims (paras 8-9, 19-21, 27-28).
• Defendant: Contended that the Plaintiff's fees were unreasonable and objected to specific charges. Argued that payments made did not imply assent to the charges and sought recovery of overpaid amounts (paras 10-11, 23-25, 29).

Legal Issues

• Did the Plaintiff establish a prima facie case for the reasonableness of its fees?
• Did the Defendant raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding the reasonableness of the Plaintiff's fees?
• Did the Defendant's payments without objection constitute an account stated, barring its counterclaims?
• Was the Plaintiff entitled to recover attorney's fees for in-house counsel?

Disposition

• The summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiff on its complaint was reversed.
• The summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiff on the Defendant's counterclaims was affirmed.
• The award of attorney's fees was vacated and remanded for reconsideration (paras 35-36).

Reasons

Per Montgomery J. (Ransom C.J. and Frost J. concurring):

• Prima Facie Case for Fees: The Plaintiff bore the burden of proving the reasonableness of its fees. The invoices and affidavit provided sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case (paras 19-22).
• Defendant's Rebuttal: The Defendant's affidavit and objections raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding the reasonableness of the fees. The trial court erred in requiring expert testimony to challenge the fees (paras 23-26).
• Account Stated: The Defendant's payments without objection, after reviewing the invoices, constituted assent to the charges, creating an account stated. This barred the Defendant's counterclaims absent fraud or mistake, which were not present (paras 27-30).
• Attorney's Fees: The trial court erred in categorically denying fees for in-house counsel. Such fees may be recoverable if reasonable, necessarily incurred, and not duplicative of retained counsel's work (paras 32-34).

The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with these findings.