ABA Lawyers – Why Are Attorneys Fees Used in ABA Litigation?
The Arbys lawsuit is a legal case filed in the United Kingdom against the manufacturer of a plastic children’s slippers. The plaintiff was partially asleep when the slipper went through a “slip”. When he awakened, he discovered that the slipper had fallen apart. This is an extremely common scenario that many parents have to deal with when their child or children slip on something such as a dress or rug. The manufacturers of the Arby Slippers failed to take reasonable precautions to protect the consumer from harm, and they have been ordered to pay the full amount due to this negligence.
The initial stages of this case involved a meeting between an attorney from the ABA and a representative from Lawfield &Taylor, a British law firm.
At this meeting, it was determined that there were two possible scenarios that could result from the negligence of the manufacturers. The first scenario involved no damages being paid, while the second scenario would see actual monetary damages being paid. This would have a bearing on the overall settlement.
The manufacturers took the matter very seriously, believing that it was absolutely necessary that they were not held financially responsible for the accident.
As a result, they hired a reputable and highly experienced personal injury attorney to represent them. The attorney was an Arbes Law Firm client prior to the filing of the lawsuit. During the course of the case, it was discovered that this was an unnecessary delay tactic. After all, the attorney was fully committed to winning the case for his client.
The case was submitted to the court at an early date.
The judge was impressed with the evidence that had been presented by the attorneys. He ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiff. However, the damages that were originally awarded were considerably less than was expected. Because of this disparity in anticipated compensation, the defendant attempted to have the case dismissed. However, this request was denied by the judge.
The attorneys did not accept this argument.
Rather than allowing the case to be dismissed, they sought an appeal of the decision. On appeal, they argued that the original award was incorrect and that they should not be required to pay anything more than what they were originally awarded. After the case file was submitted to the court, there was yet another change that had to be made. Apparently, the court wanted to require the manufacturer to provide a financial analysis showing that they would be able to recover from their financial losses.
So, the case was amended, to include this requirement.
The manufacturer’s obligation became to provide financial data that justified their original award and show that their revenues could cover any damages that resulted from a loss. This amendment was incorporated into the final judgment. The judge made one last order regarding the damages that would be awarded. He required that a percentage of the original award is awarded as “chronic and continuing” damages.
The manufacturer’s obligation then became to show how they would be able to sustain these losses in the future. The attorney must also prove that the claim at issue is a legitimate claim for damages. In the case of Arbes vs. Arbes, the plaintiffs filed a claim for medical malpractice, but lost that case. The judge instructed the jury that it was irrelevant whether or not the jury had a general, financial understanding of the company.
The attorney’s fees for this case were awarded to the plaintiff, so the case was continued. The plaintiff, now represented by a new lawyer, brought the same issues up again in a new trial. The court did not allow the case to be continued and again instructed the jury that it was irrelevant whether or not the jury had a general, financial understanding of the corporation. This time, the jury did award the requested damages. This time, the jury awarded more than was initially requested, and ended up making the company wealthy.
