Cranmer v. Brothers

Citations

• 15 S.D. 234
• 88 N.W. 105
• 1901 S.D. LEXIS 111

Syllabus

<p>1. An attorney agreeing, for a fixed fee, to foreclose a mechanic's lien and “to perform any and all work necessary in and for the complete foreclosure” thereof, is not required to defend, without additional compensation, a motion, not based upon his errors, to vacate the judgment or foreclosure obtained by him.</p> <p>2. In an action for legal services it appeared that plaintiff had agreed for $25 to foreclose a •mechanic’s lien. For successfully resisting a motion to vacate the judgment of foreclosure obtained by him he demanded additional compensation. The defendant claimed that the motion was based upon plaintiff’s errors, and showed that while it was pending he made an affidavit setting forth some mistakes in the proceedings. The plaintiff denied committing any errors. Held, that as the denial of the motion to vacate the judgment was prima facie evidence that plaintiff had committed no error, the evidence was insufficient to warrant an instruction denying additional' compensation.</p> <p>3. Where, in an action for legal services rendered in defending a motion to vacate a judgment of foreclosure obtained for a fixed fee, the verdict was for less than the amount claimed for compensation for such services, an instruction denying the right to compensation therefor was prejudicial.</p>