A widow of a victim of the Sept. 11 attacks sought compensation from the federal Victims Compensation Fund. She hired an attorney to represent her in the action, but the lawyer in question sought a startling $2 million dollars contingency fees for his effort. The attorney in question then filed for a judgment entitling him to the fee. The widow, not surprisingly, felt that the amount demanded was inappropriate considering the no-fault nature of the VCF.
Simmons, Jannace & Stagg represented the widow as she fought the demand for $2 million. After demonstrating a lack of jurisdiction for the federal court, and stayed the judgment. This represents the first known federal court decision regarding attorney fee disputes and the 9/11 fund.
<< Home