Lawyer Fees and Costs in a California Wildfire Claim

Worried About Paying a Lawyer After a Fire? How Attorney Fees Work in a Wildfire Claim

A contingency fee is a fee that depends on the outcome: instead of billing by the hour as work is done, the lawyer is paid a share of any recovery the claim produces. The share, and what happens with costs, comes from the agreement itself, not from a general rule.

California regulates these agreements directly. Section 6147 of the California Business and Professions Code provides that an attorney who contracts to represent a client on a contingency fee basis must, at the time the contract is entered into, provide a duplicate copy of the contract, signed by both the attorney and the client (or the client's guardian or representative), except that the section does not apply to contingency fee contracts for the recovery of workers' compensation benefits. The statute says the contract "shall be in writing."

The same section requires the written contract to include, among other things, a statement of the contingency fee rate the client and attorney agreed on and a statement of how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim "will affect the contingency fee and the client's recovery." It also requires, for most claims, a statement "that the fee is not set by law but is negotiable between attorney and client." California sets no single rate for these agreements; the rate is whatever the written contract states.

For a family after a fire, this means the fee is not something to guess at. Whether the claim runs against a utility, a private party or someone else, what you would owe and when is set by a signed document you keep a copy of. How a wildfire claim works more broadly, including who may be responsible, is covered on the California wildfire lawyer page.

Beyond the Fee: What 'Case Costs' Are in a Fire Claim and How They Differ from Attorney Fees

Attorney fees and case costs are two different things, and confusing them is a common source of surprise at the end of a claim. The fee is the lawyer's compensation. Case costs are the out-of-pocket expenses the claim itself generates as it is investigated, filed and pursued.

For a family whose house burned, those costs can include appraisals of the damaged home and land, engineering or fire-cause experts, court filing fees, and retrieving documents and records. A wildfire case often turns on technical questions, such as how and where a fire started and what a property was worth before and after, so this outside work is often part of the picture. The amounts vary from claim to claim, and this page gives none.

Section 6147 requires the written agreement to state how disbursements and costs affect both the contingency fee and the client's recovery. That disclosure answers a question with real consequences: are costs taken out of a recovery before the fee is calculated, or after?

The order changes the math. When costs come out first, the fee is calculated on a smaller remaining amount. When the fee is calculated first, on the full recovery, costs then come out of what is left. The same recovery can leave a family with a different net amount depending on which method the agreement uses. For a household rebuilding its budget from scratch, the costs language in a fee agreement carries as much weight as the fee rate.

If a Public Entity May Be Connected to the Fire: Costs the Law Allows in an Inverse Condemnation Proceeding

If you are a property owner whose home or land was damaged and a public entity may be connected to the fire, one cost rule may matter to you. Inverse condemnation is the proceeding in which you, as the property owner, seek compensation from a public entity for private property it took or damaged, rather than waiting for the public entity to start the process itself.

Section 1036 of the California Code of Civil Procedure provides that in any inverse condemnation proceeding, the court rendering judgment for the plaintiff by awarding compensation, or the attorney representing the public entity who effects a settlement, "shall determine and award or allow to the plaintiff, as a part of that judgment or settlement, a sum that will, in the opinion of the court, reimburse the plaintiff's reasonable costs, disbursements, and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal, and engineering fees, actually incurred because of that proceeding." For an owner whose claim goes to appeal, the reimbursement can cover costs incurred in the trial court or in any appellate proceeding in which the owner, as plaintiff, prevails on any issue.

The limits of this rule matter as much as the rule. Section 1036 applies to inverse condemnation proceedings. It also applies only where the plaintiff obtains compensation through a judgment or a settlement of that proceeding, and the reimbursement is for reasonable expenses actually incurred.

Whether a particular fire claim involves inverse condemnation at all depends on the facts, including who owned or controlled what is alleged to have started the fire. Claims involving utilities raise their own questions, discussed on the utility wildfire lawsuit page. Which type of proceeding is in play is a question an attorney can help sort out from the facts of the fire.

Handed a Fee Agreement After a Fire? What the Written Agreement Has to Cover

When a family sits down with a fee agreement weeks after a fire, the law has already decided what that document must tell them. Under Section 6147, the contract "shall include, but is not limited to," these items, each with a practical meaning for the person signing:

• a statement of the contingency fee rate the client and attorney have agreed on;
• a statement of how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim will affect the contingency fee and the client's recovery;
• a statement of to what extent, if any, the client could be required to pay any compensation to the attorney for related matters arising from their relationship that the contingency fee contract does not cover, which may include amounts the attorney collected for the plaintiff;
• unless the claim is subject to Section 6146, a statement that the fee is not set by law but is negotiable between attorney and client;
• if the claim is subject to Section 6146, a statement that the rates in that section are the maximum limits and that the attorney and client may negotiate a lower rate.

The phrase "is not limited to" means an agreement can contain more than these items. These are the minimum.

The statute also says what happens when an agreement falls short. Under section 6147, subdivision (b), failure to comply with any provision of the section "renders the agreement voidable at the option of the plaintiff, and the attorney shall thereupon be entitled to collect a reasonable fee." In plain words, the client may choose to undo the agreement, and the attorney may then collect a reasonable fee rather than the contract rate. That includes the requirement that the client receive a signed duplicate copy when the contract is made.

A family is free to read each line, ask what any term means, and keep a signed copy. In a review at this stage, an attorney typically walks through each required statement and flags any provision about costs, related matters or the fee rate that is unclear or missing.

What Happens to Costs If a Claim Produces No Recovery? Questions Worth Asking Before Signing

Families reviewing an agreement after a wildfire often look for a few answers, because these decide what a client may net from any recovery.

The first is the order of deductions described above. Families often find it by locating the costs sentence Section 6147 requires and reading whether it says "before" or "after" the fee.

The second is what happens to costs if the claim does not produce a recovery. A contingency fee depends on a recovery, but costs are a separate item, and agreements can treat them differently. People in this position often read for the sentence that says whether costs advanced on the claim would still be owed, and by whom, if there is no recovery. Section 6147 itself does not set that answer; the agreement does.

The third is scope. A wildfire can lead to more than one proceeding: a claim against a private party, a claim involving a public entity, or an appeal, and the rules for each can differ. Section 6147 requires a statement about whether the client could owe compensation for related matters the contract does not cover. Families often check whether the agreement covers every proceeding the claim may involve, or only some. Timing questions, such as how long a claim may be brought, are separate from fees and are explained on the deadlines for a wildfire claim page.

These answers come from the written agreement, not a general rule or a website. An attorney reviewing an agreement can point to the sentences that answer each question. If you would like help working through them with the agreement in front of you, you may want to consider requesting a case evaluation.